Rural Metro

Rural/Metro Corporation
Private Company
Industry Healthcare
Founded 1948
Headquarters Scottsdale, Arizona
Products Ambulance, Fire Protection, Security Services, Emergency Communications
Revenue $500 million USD (2008)
Owner Envision Healthcare Holdings
Slogan 50 Years of Serving Others
Website RuralMetro.com

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 Witzeman, 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 Witzeman, 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 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 million 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 Envision Healthcare Holdings, the parent company of American Medical Response,[4] 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.[5]

Fire Protection Services

Rural/Metro offers private fire protection services to communities and corporations in the United States on a fee or subscription basis. The company traditionally offered services in locations in which there were no other fire departments, or those in place were not capable of being a sole provider of services. Many locations contract directly with individuals, charging an annual subscription fee to people who choose to subscribe, however in several larger operations in which RMFD covers the whole community on a master contract, a subscription fee for the community is charged to the community and paid for by taxes.[6] 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.[7][8]

RMFD has received criticism for billing its practices relating to fire services. In one instance, it billed a homeowner despite having arrived after publicly funded firefighters had already begun firefighting operations;[9] the homeowner had not approved Rural/Metro operations, and was unaware that they offered subscription services in the area.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Rural/Metro Corporation - Our History - Ambulance Transportation, Private Fire Protection Services". Ruralmetro.com. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  2. ↑ "Warburg Buys Rural/Metro". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  3. ↑ "Form 8-K". EDGAR. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. July 1, 2011. Item 3.01. Commission File Number 0-22056. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Archived November 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Archived November 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Renew Fire Service". Rural/Metro Fire. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  8. ↑ "Home burns then fire department charges residents nearly $20,000 | Odd News - Yahoo News". News.yahoo.com. 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  9. ↑ Monier, Jill (5 November 2013). "Surprise home burns; Rural Metro bills owner almost $20k". Myfoxphoenix.com. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Lohr, David (November 8, 2013). "Arizona Firefighters Charge Family Nearly $20,000 After Home Burns Down". Huffington Post. Retrieved Nov 11, 2013.
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