- Private firefighters do more than just protect rich peoples’ homes. They fight alongside traditional firefighters and help the insurance industry.
With Los Angeles in its sixth day ablaze, private firefighters have garnered renewed attention as luxury homes burned down.
Real estate executive Keith Wasserman went viral on TikTok after seeking private firefighters to defend his Pacific Palisades estate. The post, now deleted, received widespread backlash.
But private firefighters don't just serve the ultra-wealthy. In fact, they are contracted by the government as well as the insurance industry and are assisting the more than 7,500 publicly funded firefighters and emergency personnel in Los Angeles.
“Contract firefighters who are hired by the government are the vast majority,” Wildfire Defense Systems CEO David Torgerson told the Los Angeles Times.
Outside help is not something new, as private firefighters have responded to previous wildfires, including others in California.
According to the National Wildfire Suppression Association, a trade group for private fire services contractors, they have been under government contract from state and federal organizations since the 1980s.
“Today, approximately 40% of the resources across the United States are provided by private wildland fire services,” the NWSA website states.
In addition to supplementing government efforts, fire support is hired by insurance companies to mitigate payout costs by fireproofing at-risk buildings.
The LA Times reported that Allied Disaster Defense, which services insurance professionals along with property owners, has been assisting in private endeavors in Southern California.
According to the website, the company offers an untraditional approach to disaster defense, partnering with insurance companies to offer a variety of wildfire prevention and risk reduction.
Allied also specializes in additional emergency prevention and restoration such as water damage, earthquake and electrical damage prevention.
As private contractors primarily hold government contracts and work with insurance companies, the market for private protection remains relevant regarding individual homeowners.
According to its website, Allied offers services to “private clients, high-net worth individuals, and even celebrities.”
In 2018, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West contracted a privately contracted firefighting organization to save their $60 million home from a wildfire. Such service isn't cheap, but cost effective for a luxury property.
A two-person crew with a small vehicle can cost $3,000 a day, and a 20-person crew with four trucks costs $10,000 a day, Bryan Wheelock, vice president of Grayback Forestry in Oregon, told the New York Times.
Wildfire Defense Systems doesn't work directly with landowners but instead works under annual service agreements with insurance carriers—and taxpayers bear no extra cost.
"Less than a fraction of 1% is going to be 'that private firefighter situation,'" Torgerson told Fortune. "This situation only comes up when we get fires in Malibu or Pasadena."
