by Norma Vavolizza
Here’s an interesting statistic: 85% of all fire departments in the U.S. are either entirely or mostly volunteer, and they often operate on very modest budgets. That’s according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. Also interesting to note: private equity firms are buying up companies that produce things that fire departments need.
After one such takeover, a volunteer fire department in Connecticut reported a jump in the subscription price it paid for critical software that tracks emergencies. Their yearly rate went from $795 for a phased-out product to $5,000 for what was advertised as a superior replacement product.