The Rural/Metro Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona, shows the superiority of private fire fighting to the Keystone Cops operations that exist in all government-run fire departments. Rural Metro’s emphasis is on fire prevention, not just showing up when it’s too late. And they do more than take out public service ads urging people to buy smoke alarms. They provide high-quality fire protection services to rural areas that governments won’t go near (for economic reasons, naturally). They simply charge a modest annual fee that the residents of these areas a happy to pay. They tailor the services to indidual communities, even removing poisonous desert reptiles from homes at no extra charge.
The average cost to Rural/Metro customers is 25-50 percent lower than similar services provided by governments although very few, if any, government fire departments can match the quality of Rural/Metro’s services. The company even has a wild-land fire division, which could have come in handy in California this week. The company operates in 50 communities in five states despite the fact that its competitors are subsidized 100 percent by the taxpayers. Its fire trucks are painted lime green because a national study said that was the most visible color at night and in bad weather. Read more about it on www.libertyhaven.com
10:28 am on October 29, 2003
