“This is a tale of white horses and green fire trucks. It is the story of the very earliest days of what is now the Rural Metro Corporation, in 1947 called the Rural Fire Department.” - Louis A. Witzeman Jr.

The Rural Metro Corporation is celebrating 70 years of fire service. Originally conceived by a 22-year-old journalist working for the Arizona Times, the seed was planted when he watched his neighbors’ home rendered to ash by a fire one night and the fire department never responded. For insurance reasons, city fire departments could not leave the city and, you guessed it, the home was outside the city limits.       

So began Lou’s “white horse” cause--namely the idea that everyone needs a “white horse” to save the day. Driven by this cause and a desire to leave the world just a trifle better than he found it, Lou worked to revolutionize the fire service industry with the first privately owned fire department.

“It takes hard work, brains and luck,” is what Lou told anyone who asked what it took to make it in the controversial world of privately operated fire service. Doing “the government’s” sacred duty did not rest well among many.

“It takes hard work”— A single minded dedication. Hours, days, years of driven work to fully recognize the concept of privately managed fire protection.

“It takes…brains”— Not genius status brains, but enough intelligence to challenge and interpret the minds of your competition and detractors.

“It takes…luck”— There are many things beyond your control that can hurt or help your cause. “I believe the old truism that you make the most of your own good luck with hard work and most bad luck comes from lack of attention, but the factor of luck remains and it can bless you or it can put you in the grave.” –Lou Witzeman

On February 2, 1948, Rural Fire Protection went into service on a shoestring budget, one truck, a 30 x 30 station fully furnished with used goods and eager anticipation. Two weeks later, their first call defied the law of averages with not one fire, but two at the same time.

By 1950, Rural Fire Protection was operating in the then town of Scottsdale, a budding city outside of Phoenix with a population of just over 2,000. In April, a massive fire erupted in the Arizona Crafts Center and Rural Fire Protection charged in to help. This event cemented their future as the first fire department for Scottsdale, Arizona. More than 50 years later (2003), Rural Fire protection bowed out, allowing the City Of Scottsdale to raise its own fire department to service nearly 200,000 citizens.

During the 50 years that Rural Fire Protection was servicing Scottsdale, it acquired Metropolitan Fire in 1959, making it Rural/Metro Fire Department. In the same fashion, Rural/Metro expanded to Pima County replacing Catalina Fire Department in 1962, and then to Yuma County replacing the Tri-State Fire Department in 1971. In 1976, Rural/Metro Fire Department made a historic move outside of Arizona, purchasing Knoxville Fire Department and taking Rural/Metro Fire to the national stage. Founder Lou Witzeman even sat for an interview on 60 Minutes (1968) and later Good Morning America (2000).

One man, a green fire truck, “hard work, brains and luck.”  Seventy years later Rural Metro Fire Department boasts 42 stations, 75 fire apparatus, and more than 950 employees—the nation’s largest privately-owned fire department. Lou’s “white horse” cause has come full circle.  

“It takes hard work, luck, brains, guts and a sense of humor.”  In his experiment of free enterprise gone wild, Lou found these five things key to growth, creation, acceptance, and su

Beloeil, Quebec, and Van Wert, Ohio, February 2, 2018 – Demers Ambulances, a Quebec-based leader in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of ambulances in Canada, is merging with Braun Industries, Inc., a leader in custom ambulance manufacturing based in Ohio serving customers throughout the U.S. The combination of expertise, trusted leadership, safety-driven products, values and cultures creates a leading player within the evolving specialty vehicle industry. The terms of the merger are not disclosed.

Demers is a Quebec entrepreneurial success and the oldest continuous ambulance manufacturer in North America with ambulances in service worldwide. For Demers, this merger helps the company realize its ambition of dramatically increasing its North American market share and competing on a global scale. The merger with Braun creates the second largest ambulance manufacturer in North America and provides greater scale to pursue innovation and international growth. 

Braun is a family-owned company that has been manufacturing custom, high-quality ambulances since 1972. With an extensive dealer network, dedicated workforce and established brand throughout the U.S., Braun delivers hundreds of ambulances each year. For Braun, the merger provides an increased capacity to drive product enhancements, improve product value, and to better serve more customers across the U.S. network.

“We are very pleased with our progress in strengthening our presence and pursuing growth,” said Alain Brunelle, CEO of Demers Ambulances. “Partnering with Braun provides us the right opportunity to better serve and service our customers, strengthen our employee base, and enhance our capacity to operate and innovate in a competitive, global industry. Together, we look forward to growing the combined company and to meeting the industry’s needs with even better products and service excellence.”

“The timing is right to partner with Demers Ambulances, a company that shares our values, spirit of innovation and commitment to quality and customers,” said Kim Braun, CEO of Braun “As the family contemplated many growth plans for a successful future, joining another successful brand that creates value for our workforce and customers, was top of mind. With this merger, our employees, customers and dealers stand to benefit from over 100 years of combined experience.” 

Moving forward, Kim Braun will maintain her current leadership positions of the Braun brands and related operations, based in Van Wert, Ohio. Both companies will retain their own brands, identities, facilities and employees. The combined company will be led by Alain Brunelle. 

The merge was made possible by Clearspring Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity firm focused on growing mid-market companies, who led the transaction alongside Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global, long-term institutional investor.

 

ABOUT DEMERS AMBULANCES

Founded in 1960, Demers Ambulances is Canada’s largest ambulance manufacturer and second in North America. Recognized as a leader in innovative products that meet and exceed the expectations of medical emergency specialists around the world, Demers Ambulances is accredited by Transport Canada and is recognized as a "Qualified Vehicle Modifiers" (QVM) by Ford, holds the US National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Member Verification Program (MVP) certification, and holds the BNQ1013 certification from the Bureau de Normalization du Québec (BNQ). To learn more about Demers Ambulances, visit www.demers-ambulances.com.

 

ABOUT BRAUN INDUSTRIES

Since 1972, Braun Industries, Inc. has been a leading ambulance manufacturer that is known for designing and building custom ambulances that are "Built for Life". Braun's ambula

Frustration in Onalaska following the recent firing of the Lewis County Fire District 1 chief, resignations among volunteers and the district’s commission and the forced closure of its main station by the state Department of Labor and Industries came to a head last month with the filing of a request to recall remaining commissioners Rich Bainbridge and Bill Kassel.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2018 3:43:16 AM - SOURCE: Centralia Chronicle