Rural Metro Fire was founded by Lou Weitzman, 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 Weitzman, feeling something had to be done, went and purchased a fire engine and proceeded to go door to door asking residents to subscribe to the new fire service by payi
ng an annual membership fee (in lieu of taxes).This was the origin of the Rural Fire Department, later renamed Rural/Metro Fire Department. Rural Metro Fire 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 Fire fills that unique niche. It is the business model that Rural Metro Fire was founded upon. Additionally, in certain communities, Rural Metro Fire 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.
