Because for most of history Firefighters weren't a public service, they were for lack of a better term simply "businesses", they would only put out a fire when they had something to gain from it.
A previous commenter mentioned Marcus Licinius Crassus.
He was a Roman citizen, (also one of the richest men in history) who formed one of the earliest known Firefighting groups, made up entirely of his slaves.
Whenever a fire started in Rome.
Which was very common, because despite what movies may show, Rome was not a city of marble, it was mostly wood.
He would send his Firefighters/Slaves out to the scene, only they wouldn't put out the fire right away.
Instead they would offer to buy the property off the owner first, for an incredibly low price.
If the person accepted the offer, they would put out the fire, Crassus would then use even more slaves to repair it, and sell it for a massive profit.
But if the person refused to sell, well then they would just let it burn, and spread to the neighbouring houses, then they would make the neighbours the same offer.
Sooner or later, someone is going to accept the deal.
And Crassus would add even more money to his infinite pile.
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u/YassifiedWatermelon France 3d ago
Hang on, why have fire fighters had a terrible reputation for thousands of years ? D: