Living with Fire Part 3: Private-sector approaches to a public problem


Wildfire Defense Systems is hired by insurance companies to send firefighting crews throughout 20 states to protect insured property at risk from wildfires. The company justifies its services as a needed supplement to overworked, publicly funded wildfire-fighting crews. Critics say it gives rich homeowners an unfair advantage. Since its founding in 2008, it has responded to nearly 600 fires, protecting millions of properties and saving insurance companies more than $750 million in potential claims.

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