Marcus Licinius Crassus kept a private crew of some five hundred men trained to fight fires, and Rome burned often. According to Plutarch, the crew would arrive at a burning building and wait while Crassus negotiated to buy it, and the neighbouring houses, at a price set by the flames. Once the sale went through, his men put the fire out. He became one of the richest men in Rome.
Why this oneRome’s fire service was a business model, not a public good.