Crassus Allegedly Profited From Fires

The first private fire brigade in ancient Rome is traditionally attributed to Roman statesman Marcus Licinius Crassus, often called "the richest man in Rome." According to the widely repeated account, his 500-man force rushed to burning buildings but waited while Crassus offered to buy each property at a fraction of its value. If the owner accepted, his men extinguished the fire; if the owner refused, they allegedly allowed the building to burn. Crassus then rebuilt his purchases using enslaved labor and often leased them to their former owners or new tenants, although the surviving account by Plutarch does not explicitly describe the firefighting bargain.

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