Marcus Crassus, one of, if not THE richest man in history acquired a sizable chunk of his extensive Roman wealth by running his own fire brigade. When a fire was set, er um spontaneously combusted (these things happen!), Marcus and his boys would hit the scene and make the owner a pennies on the denarii offer they couldn't refuse for their property outright or a sizable fee to douse the flames. If, as was often the case, the owner of the flamma domus refused said offers, Ol' Marcus and the Legio Ignus Bucket Brigade would hang out, scratch their nuts and warm their hands over the roasting timber until there was nothing left but ash and broken dreams. Then he'd offer to buy the ruins for even less than the original bid, rebuild and sell or slum lord it out.