As southern California fires ripped through some of the poshest neighborhoods in the country, teams of private firefighters arrived on the scene with a singular mission — to protect their client’s multimillion-dollar estate.
The catch? This elite service is reserved for those who’ve shelled out big bucks for private firefighting insurance.
Today, private firefighting insurance is a multi-million dollar market fueled by climate change, rising wildfire risks, and rising inequality.
On the surface, this industry sounds a bit dystopian. But private firefighting is far from being a new phenomenon. In fact, as you’ll learn today, its roots stretch all the way back to Ancient Rome.
This issue dives deep into the fiery, under-discussed world of private firefighting insurance. I’ll explore its origins, evolution, and the implications it holds for our modern world.
Because when the heat is on, history shows that who gets saved isn’t always left to chance.
Note: Since you have the All-Access Pass, you get the full issue. ✅
Let’s go 👇
Table of Contents
What is private firefighting insurance?
Private firefighting insurance is a specialized policy that provides clients access to private firefighting teams dedicated to safeguarding their property.
How does it work?
The service breaks down into three areas:
Prevention
A big part of this industry is protecting homes before a fire hits.
The first thing companies do is evaluate a property to identify vulnerabilities and implement proactive measures (trimming trees, clearing chapparal, and creating fire breaks)
“We clean, we sweep, we clear gutters, we take away the places where the embers can ignite on the property.”
– David Torgerson, chairman of private firefighting firm Wildfire Defense Systems
Active defense
When a fire breaks out, private firefighters are dispatched to a client’s property. (You don’t need to call them — a private crew is sent automatically.)
They apply fire-retardant gels, seal up vents to prevent embers from floating in, and, if necessary, directly combat flames.
Private firefighters are allowed to tap into public fire hydrants when needed. But this is rarely necessary, as they usually roll up with their own water trucks, or hook into hydrants already installed on the homeowners’ property.
Post-fire services
After a fire, the team inspects the property for residual hazards, removes combustible materials, and assesses damage.
Who hires private firefighters?
There’s a misconception that private firefighting crews are hired directly by high-net-worth individuals.
In reality, insurance companies are the ones hiring private firefighting crews. Insurers like AIG and Chubb contract these companies and typically offer it as an optional add-on to high-end homeowner policies.
For clients, the appeal is clear: These services offer personalized protection that public fire departments — often overstretched and underfunded — simply cannot guarantee.
The surprising history of private firefighting
I first recall hearing about this concept years ago, while watching a documentary on Ben Franklin — a famous early advocate of using private fire brigades.
However, when I brought the topic up in the Alts community, our author Brian Flaherty noted that it dates back much further:
“Oh it dates back much further than [Franklin]. Crassus, the richest man in ancient Rome, had a private team of firefighting slaves.”
Ancient Rome: The predatory dawn of private firefighting
Private firefighting insurance may seem like a modern, “late stage capitalism” concept, but Brian was right — its roots stretch back thousands of years to Ancient Rome.
And the story is wild (sorry).
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman General who famously created what most consider the first private firefighting brigade. Crassus’s operation wasn’t just innovative — it was opportunistic and predatory.
Crassus’s method was simple and ruthless. When a fire broke out, his brigade would rush to the scene, but not extinguish the flames.
Instead, Crassus would negotiate with the property owner, offering to buy the burning building at a steep discount.
If the owner accepted, Crassus’s brigade would quickly put out the fire. If the owner refused, the building was left to burn.
“Observing how natural and familiar at Rome were such fatalities as the conflagration and collapse of buildings…he proceeded to buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty.”
– From Plutarch’s Life of Crassus
This early (and ruthless) version of capitalizing on desperation via distressed real estate investing made Crassus one of the wealthiest men in Rome.
But karma came back, and Crassus’ greedy life came to a grim and fitting end during the Battle of Carrhae, a military campaign against the Parthian Empire (modern-day Iran).
One infamous (and possibly apocryphal) version of the story claims the Parthians poured molten gold down Crassus’s throat as a mockery of his insatiable greed.
17th century London: The birth of fire insurance
Crassus’s brigade laid the groundwork for the development of private fire protection services that continued into later centuries.
In 1666, the devastating Great Fire of London underscored the need for organized fire protection. In response, private insurance companies began to emerge, starting with Nicholas Barbon’s Fire Office.
In 1680, a physician named Nicholas Barbon took a break from medicine to make history. He founded the Fire Office in London — the first-ever joint-stock company for fire insurance in the city, and quite possibly the entire world.
Early London insurance companies didn’t outsource the actual fire protection — they built their own firefighting crews.
That’s right — each private insurance company established its own fire brigade to protect their insured properties. (This incentivized smart prevention, too. Clients got cheaper rates if they built with brick instead of wood, because, well, logic.)
There were very few proper addresses at the time, so homeowners purchased fire marks to display outside thier home and indicate coverage from a specific ompany. This system ensured that a company’s brigade could identify and save properties bearing their mark.
Yes, sometimes things got messy in terms of fire responsibility. But contrary to popular belief, companies did not let homes insured by other companies burn. In fact they cooperated — even competed to see who could extinguish the flames first.
Eventually, this cooperation led to a solution where all insurance companies would contribute to a central municipal authority responsible for fire prevention and response — i.e., London’s first public fire services.
Colonial America: The Franklin Influence
Ben Franklin indeed helped lay the foundation for modern firefighting.
Across the Atlantic in 1736, the founding father created the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. Known as “Franklin’s Bucket Brigade” (which is admittedly a way cooler name) this was one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in the American colonies.
This wasn’t just a noble endeavor; it was a practical response to a growing problem. Fires were a constant threat in the dense wooden neighborhoods of colonial cities, and Franklin saw an opportunity to organize and mitigate that risk.
But Franklin’s vision didn’t stop at volunteer brigades. In 1752, he co-founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, which was America’s first fire insurance company.
Franklin’s approach to fire safety was rooted in collaboration, community, and above all, prevention.
As he once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” — a principle that applies not just to fire protection, but countless areas of modern risk management.
The private firefighting market today
Modern private firefighting insurance is evolving from a niche offering into a significant component of risk management, especially in wildfire-prone regions.
As you recall, when this industry began, private firefighting insurance companies were the same ones fighting fires.
Obviously, those days are over now. The industry has decoupled into insurance companies on one side, and the private firefighting companies they contract with on the other.
Are insurance co’s helping the industry go mainstream?
Private firefighting services are beginning to get automatically bundled into high-net-worth homeowners’ insurance policies.
This actually makes sense when you think about it. With tens of billions of dollars in wildfire liability, insurance co’s are more than willing to spend on wildfire defense to avoid the far bigger hit of losing insured properties.
Hiring private firefighters to swing by a home and take preventive measures as a blaze closes in? That’ll run about $1,000 — a bargain compared to the alternative.
AIG and Chubb, the two big insurance players in the market, now often include these services without an explicit additional charge, though the overall premiums for such policies are substantial.
PURE Insurance is a boutique outfit that caters to high-net-worth individuals, focusing on those with luxury homes, high-end art & wine collections, and plenty to lose.
Since 2010 they’ve collaborated with private firefighting firms to offer wildfire mitigation services to their policyholders.
Private firefighting companies
But beyond insurance providers, specialized firms deliver direct firefighting services:
Wildfire Defense Systems
As mentioned above, Wildfire Defense Systems has responded to over 1,400 wildfires since 2008, boasting a 99% success rate in protecting homes (if it arrives on scene in time to prepare the property).
WDS’s extensive experience and capabilities have positioned them as a clear leader in private wildfire services. But where WDS has really excelled is in working with major insurers.
Today they partner with 36 insurance carriers to help prevent the costly wildfire damage to homes and businesses that insurance companies would otherwise be on the hook for.
Rural Metro Fire
Operating on a subscription model, Rural Metro Fire offers fire protection services to communities not covered by municipal departments, primarily across Arizona, Oregon, and Tennessee
Established in 1948 by founder Lou Witzeman, who created the company to address the lack of fire services in unincorporated areas, after witnessing a brutal fire near his home outside Phoenix.
It’s surprisingly common for rural areas, especially in the US, to lack dedicated municipal firefighting services. RMF solves this, using a pooled funds model very similar to Ben Franklin’s.
Capstone Fire and Safety Management
Headquartered in Escondido, California, Capstone is a private, for-profit company specializing in outsourced firefighting, technical rescue, and safety services.
They cater to public, private, and government entities, specializing in industrial fires, safety prevention, and even confined space rescue.
They also do residential, of course. Capstone has been actively deploying private firefighters to protect insured homes during wildfires, including the recent LA fires.
The company has estimated revenue between $50-100 million.
GFP Enterprises
GFP is a private wildland firefighting and emergency logistics company.
Established in 2000 and headquartered in Sisters, Oregon, they started out fighting wildfires, but now assist with a wide variety disasters, including the design & setup of full-service deployment camps for FEMA in response to hurricanes & floods.
GFP Enterprises has international experience as well, having deployed equipment and/or personnel to some of the most remote areas in the world, including projects in Papua New Guinea, Chile, and Panama.
In 2021, GFP Enterprises was acquired by Ellipse Global, a leading provider of emergency response, logistics, and base camp services.
Chloeta
Chloeta (pronounced “shuh-lay-tuh”) is a Native American-owned company that provides specialized services to governmental and commercial clients.
Their offerings include aviation support, emergency management, healthcare staffing, infrastructure and environmental consulting, risk mitigation, asset protection, security, and other disasters like toxic spill management.
In wildfire management, Chloeta has partnered with insurance companies to offer proactive wildfire response benefits. For instance, in collaboration with Safeco Insurance, Chloeta provides services such as property monitoring, emergency debris removal, temporary sprinkler system setup, fuel break preparation, and the application of fire-blocking foam/gel.
International landscape
Climate change has created a global challenge. It’s happening everywhere — Greece, Italy, not just California.
Falck
Founded in Denmark, Falck operates worldwide, offering emergency services, including firefighting, across Europe, the Americas, and beyond.
Falck’s inception traces back to the aftermath of Denmark’s Great Christiansborg Palace Fire in 1884.
Witnessing the chaos firsthand, Sophus Falck envisioned a more organized emergency response system, leading to the company’s establishment in 1906.
Medi Response
Based in South Africa, Medi Response provides standby fire and rescue services for municipal, commercial, and industrial clients.
Beyond emergency medical services, Medi Response provides various solutions, including event medical support and aeromedical evacuations.
NCC Group
Operating in South Africa, NCC is primarily a cybersecurity company that also offers rapid-response firefighting units, assisting landowners in compliance with national fire regulations.
Private firefighting startups
New startups are developing proactive solutions:
HEN Nozzles
Founded in 2024, HEN Nozzles has developed innovative fluidics technology that extinguishes fires 300% faster while using 67% less water than traditional methods.
This advancement is particularly significant as wildfires and structure fires become more frequent and intense globally. HEN Nozzles’ technology addresses decades of inefficiencies in fire suppression, providing fire departments with tools that save time, water, and lives.
In October 2024, the company secured $8 million in seed funding to accelerate the development and deployment of its groundbreaking fire suppression solutions.
Their innovations are poised to disrupt the fire safety equipment market, which was valued at $29.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% through 2030.
McDermott Aviation
An Australian firm innovating in aerial firefighting, McDermott has developed systems allowing helicopters to efficiently scoop water from oceans, enhancing rapid response capabilities.
The company boasts the world’s largest fleet of Bell 214 helicopters, renowned for their heavy-lift capabilities and effectiveness in firefighting operations.
McDermott Aviation has ventured into fixed-wing aircraft by acquiring C-160 Transall planes, and is expanding its operations internationally, including partnerships in the US.
FloodFlash
While primarily focused on flood risks, Insurance startup FloodFlash was the first to offer sensor-based parametric flood insurance, providing rapid payouts based on real-time data.
The company’s patented IoT-connected sensors measure flood depths with millimeter accuracy, enabling swift claims processing. In 2022, FloodFlash set a record by paying out a flood claim in just 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Yes, this is floods. However, this parametric insurance approach could also be adapted for wildfire scenarios.
Marsh McLennan discusses how parametric risk transfer can be an effective option for wildfire coverage:
“Parametric solutions rely on measurements of the event’s intensity and location in order to determine payouts. A policy can be designed, for instance, so that it pays a pre-agreed amount depending on the wildfire footprint reaching certain areas. Whereas damage from a tropical cyclone can vary dramatically from slight to complete depending on myriad factors, damage from wildfire tends to be binary: If the fire footprint reaches a particular asset, the asset will likely be completely lost. Therefore, wildfire lends itself well to parametric treatment as the hazard location largely determines the loss outcome.”
Closing thoughts
Private firefighting carries an oddlly negative connotation that I never quite understood.
Don’t get me wrong — I get why it can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.
This viral post from a prolific real estate investor is a perfect example:
And one could argue that by prioritizing high-value properties, private firefighting exacerbates inequality. It also has a non-zero effect on public resources (we’ve seen incidents of private co’s stepping on public toes) and could potentially weaken public fire departments in underfunded areas.
But I think private firefighting is one of those things that sort of feels wrong without actually being that bad.
When you leaf through history, you quickly realize this industry isn’t anything new. In fact, the world may be better off if there were more private brigades fighting fires, and more insurers offered this as standard coverage.
Climate change is real, destructive fires will only continue, and it’s all hands on deck to keep people safe.
If insurance companies continue to help make private fire protection mainstream — if this industry evolves into something not just for the rich, but for all homeowners — then we’ll all likely be better off.
This world has a history of cooperation between the public and private sectors. Private firefighers can provide additional manpower and specialized equipment, helping to protect properties that might otherwise be vulnerable due to stretched public firefighting capabilities.
In other words, insurance companies and private firefighters aren’t the bad guys*
*Except for Crassus, that guy was an ass. 🧯
That’s all for today!
Share your thoughts on this topic in the Alts community.
Until next time,
Stefan
Disclosures
- This issue was written and researched by Stefan von Imhof
- This issue was sponsored by Sen-Jam Pharmaceuticals
- Neither Alts nor Altea has any current holdings in any companies mentioned in this issue
- This issue contains no affiliate links
