Rural Metro

Rural/Metro Corporation was an American for-profit emergency services organization, providing emergency medical transportation, non-emergency general medical transportation, fire protection services, and emergency-related training services to private and commercial enterprises. The company was considered the second-largest emergency services organization in the United States and major competitor to AMR. Operating in more than 400 communities across 21 states.^[1] Rural/Metro employs over 8,000 people and answers 1.5 million calls for service yearly. Rural/Metro owns Southwest Ambulance of Arizona as well as Bowers and Pacific Ambulances of California.

History

The company was founded by Lou Wietzman, a newspaper reporter, after he witnessed a house fire near his home just outside the city limits of Phoenix, Arizona in 1948. There was no fire department established for the area so Wietzeman, feeling something had to be done, he purchased a fire engine and proceeded to go door to door asking residents to subscribe to the new fire service by paying an annual membership fee (in lieu of taxes).^[1] This was the origin of the Rural Fire Department, later renamed Rural/Metro Fire Department. In the 1980s, the company expanded into ambulance service. Rural/Metro began listing shares in 1993 on the NASDAQ exchange under the stock symbol RURL.

Warburg Pincus acquired Rural/Metro in June 2011 for US$728,000,000 in cash and debt.^[2] Rural/Metro was delisted from NASDAQ as part of the merger agreement.^[3]

In 2013, the company "replaced senior management", including the chief executive officer, as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy deal. The company continued operations during the bankruptcy reorganization; however, in 2015, Rural/Metro was purchased by Envision Healthcare Holdings,^[4] the parent company of American Medical Response,^[5] and senior management was released or merged into the parent corporation.

Emergency Medical Services

A couple of Southwest Ambulance trucks seen in Casa Grande, Arizona. Rural Metro owns Southwest Ambulance.

In 1969, Rural/Metro began offering ambulance service to customers by placing an ambulance at its fire station in the unincorporated Cave Creek, Arizona. Rural/Metro continues to operate fire based and EMS based ambulance services.

Many communities are covered under a master contract in which Rural/Metro is selected as the sole provider for fire services, or 911 ambulance services for a jurisdiction. Additionally, Rural/Metro offers other transport services in areas in which they are not the primary EMS provider. Rural/Metro currently offers ambulance services in 450 communities across 20 states.^[6]

Fire Protection Services

Rural/Metro provides fire protection services primarily under a subscription-based model to individual homeowners and commercial property owners in unincorporated suburbs, throughout several counties in Arizona, Oregon and Tennessee. These areas are not included within municipal fire department boundaries or paid for by property taxes, and Rural/Metro fills that unique niche. It is the business model that Rural/Metro was founded upon. Additionally, in certain communities, Rural/Metro partners directly with cities, towns and fire districts under master fire contracts to provide a full complement of fire protection, prevention and emergency medical services.^[7] In the event that Rural/Metro Fire Department provides services to non-subscribers either in or around the communities they serve, the property owner is billed after the incident to recoup costs associated with the emergency.^[8]

Specialty Fire

Rural/Metro’s Specialty Fire Division is nationally recognized as a leader in fire protection services. Rural/Metro maintains an important role in keeping our nation’s airports, industrial facilities and communities safe and secure by focusing on each customer’s specific safety/environmental and security standards in all aspects of operations. Firefighting, emergency medical and/or security guard services are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year at various operations located throughout the United States. Specialty Fire Division is committed to providing the best possible proactive approach to fire safety, prevention and education and security services. The division maintains membership in the following organizations: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Working Group (ARFF WG); American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE); AAAE-Great Lakes Chapter; Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates (LAMA), and ISNetworld.^[9]

See also

• Emergency medical services
• Rescue
• Ambulance
• Public Utility Model

References