Rural/Metro's history goes back more than 50 years, when founder Lou Witzeman became concerned that his neighborhood didn't have fire protection. So he pooled together some money, bought a fire truck, and asked his neighbors to subscribe to his fledgling company. With the company was also born a new way of thinking about health and safety services. As a private sector company, Rural/Metro is dedicated to finding the most cost-effective ways to deliver the highest quality ambulance transportation and fire protection services. In 1969, Rural/Metro began operating ambulance services independently of its fire operations. Today, Rural/Metro has become one of the largest ambulance companies in North America, providing "911" emergency and non-emergency medical transportation services, as well as a variety of fire protection services.
In 1978, Witzeman sold Rural/Metro to his employees through a unique employee stock ownership plan. In July 1993, Rural/Metro began trading its stock on the NASDAQ stock market. And in June 2011, the Company was acquired by the global private equity firm Warburg Pincus, LLC.
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