Private Fire Services for the wealth?

[Bababoosky 24]

I guess the rest of the people can just watch their dreams burn...

KETCHUM - Yes, the rich are different than the rest of us.

A private fire crew dispatched by a national insurance company that caters to wealthy clients is guarding 22 high-end homes threatened by the Castle Rock Fire, a blaze that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of million-dollar homes west of Ketchum.

The crew will protect only homes insured by AIG Private Client Group, an insurance company that offers "loss-prevention services" to its wealthiest customers. A truck and two-man crew sent by AIG from Montana arrived in Ketchum about 2 p.m. Wednesday to start dousing properties with Phos-Chek, the same fire retardant dropped from U.S. Forest Service aircraft.

"We're not going out there to fight the fire," said Dorothy Sarna, vice president and national director of risk-management services and loss prevention for the New York-based company. "We're out there to protect our clients."

Veteran fire managers now working the Castle Rock fire say they've never heard of a private fire crew protecting individual homes in the midst of a wildfire, said Dave Olson, a spokesman for the Forest Service.

The private crew has been granted access to areas closed to residents, but not all officials with public fire agencies were thrilled by the sight of the truck scooting through a smoky web of government fire crews.

"That sounds ridiculous to me," said Kim Rogers, a Ketchum Police Department spokesman, "especially since we haven't lost any structures. I mean, this is a Forest Service fire, not a private fire."

Nevertheless, the crew has Forest Service blessing.

AIG's private fire-protection program began about three years ago, based mostly in the wealthiest communities in California and Colorado. This is the first time the crew has come to the Wood River Valley, an area as famous for mansions as the rest of the state is for potatoes.

Properties insured under the Private Client Group are all worth more than $1 million, or their owners pay more than $10,000 annually in premiums. AIG says it's not aware of any other insurance companies that offer private fire protection.

The insurance company realized several years ago that it could save money if it took a proactive approach to wildfires, said Peter Tulupman, an AIG spokesman. AIG contracts with Firebreak Spray Systems, a company that specializes in home fire-protection services that include an outdoor, sprinkler-like fire retardant system.

Firebreak, which owns seven fire trucks, was started by the inventor of produce watering systems now common in grocery stores, said co-owner Eddie Hosch.

Firebreak has saved three houses from other fires since AIG began using it hree years ago, Sarna said. That's millions of dollars in claims the insurer would have paid had those high-end homes burned.

"We're not only in the business of paying claims," she said. "We're in the business of preventing them."

One privately protected home at a time.

[RescueKujo 130]

I would love to see these crews' wildland cards. Even if "only doing structure protection" they're within the fire lines, and they should have to have the same qualifications as regularly employed firefighters to be there.

[PC_420 28]

I wonder, if a neighbors house to the one they are protecting is burning down do they just stand there, pull out some popcorn and watch.

[efd184 59]

i bet if we all had homes of that value we would want the same thing!

as for the FIREBREAK SPRAY SYSTEM i just watched a video on it and it seems like a good idea if you're in that type of forest fire danger zone.

[Guest]

Seems like the we've come full circle.

[Oswegowind 17]

Seems like the we've come full circle.

You stole my line! Didn't NYC's fire service start with the insurance companies recruiting fire fighters to douse flames in properties they insured. Wasn't this also the objective of the NYFD Fire Patrols? This is proactive...and because they are technically not fighting the forest fire and only preventing damage to an uninvolved property why should they be held to the same standard. It specifically says that they are using a retardant to prevent fire. I don't think that they would fight the fire if the house actually caught ablaze because they are a 2 man crew. Sometimes you actually do pay for what you get!

[Guest]

I live in Ketchum and the firefighters here have been doing an amazing job. So far, no homes have been lost. The number of firefighters protecting this area is over 1,500, and the number of engines is well over 100. They have been fighting the weather out here, which is extremely dry and windy.

I saw this article a couple days ago and was surprised that such a thing existed. As far as the private firefighters go, I doubt they are responsible for a neighbors house, but there are plenty of fire personnel out here working to protect everyone's homes, regardless of price.

To give you a little idea of what the fire is like....this picture was taken from 75 miles south of Ketchum. Picture of smoke

FYI, this fire is currently the top priority wildfire in the country, no doubt due in some part to the closeness to an area with such vast wealth and also the famous Sun Valley ski resort. Much of the area south and west of town has been evacuated so far. I live in town and haven't been evacuated, but ash has been falling from the sky like snow flurries.

[Guest]

I just looked at the visible satellite picture on Intellicast, and the smoke plume extends over Yellowstone Lake, over 200 miles away. That picture that ChappFD showed is really impressive.

[SgtGumby311 0]

It doesn't really seem much different than wealthy people hiring private, armed security to protect their family and property.