Look back at how fire fighting was when it was fully private. The whole thing seemed kind of stupid to everyone. Multiple companies would show up at a house on

Look back at how fire fighting was when it was fully private. The whole thing seemed kind of stupid to everyone. Multiple companies would show up at a house on fire, check insurance plaques, and then head home if they hadn't paid them. If no one had paid them they'd let things burn, which sounds fine conceptually, but it's much cheaper to put out a fire early, and it has that awkward tendency to spread.