One evening in 1948, Lou Witzeman watched his neighbor's house go up in flames because there was no fire protection in his small, unincorporated community. He knew something had to be done.

Lou pooled together some money, bought a fire truck, and began the operation of a four-man fire department. He couldn't collect taxes, so he went door to door, asking his neighbors to subscribe by paying an annual fee.

"There was no master plan in forming the company," Witzeman said. "I simply needed fire protection for my neighborhood and I was determined to get it."

His idea turned out to be a solution for many surrounding communities, as well, and his fire department quickly grew. In 1951, his company signed a contract with the newly incorporated City of Scottsdale, Arizona, the company's first major fire protection contract and the beginning of Rural/Metro's flagship fire operations. Ambulance transportation and other services followed.

"I never expected the company to grow so big," Witzeman said. "I just wanted to provide my neighborhood with fire protection. But soon I began to realize that I had really stumbled onto something. I found that the established ways of providing services were not as efficient as they could be. So Rural/Metro's cause became to look for new and better ways to do the job ... for less money."

Lou encouraged creativity, and explored different methods to meet each of his client communities' particular needs. In fact, finding ways to deliver cost-effective service based on needs became Rural/Metro's primary ethic, which remains with the company today.

In 1978, after deliberating many offers and options about how to sell the company, Witzeman sold Rural/Metro to his employees through a unique employee stock ownership plan. In July of 1993 Rural/Metro began trading its stock on the public market, but employees still own one of the largest blocks of company stock.

Today, the company Lou founded operates in approximately 400 communities throughout the United States. His simple idea - born of necessity and unencumbered by tradition - has become a responsive, cost-effective service provider to which millions of citizens have entrusted their lives.