The emergency services community learned an important lesson this month, and it came at a painful cost for hundreds of volunteer fire departments across the country.
A recent New York Times investigation revealed that private equity firms have quietly consolidated the fire department software market. Three PE-backed companies, ESO Solutions, ImageTrend, and First Due, now control most of the industry. Departments that once paid $795 annually for incident tracking software are now facing bills exceeding $5,000. Some have seen costs rise from $4,000 to $12,000 per year.
The price increases are alarming, but they are only part of the story. What happened to fire departments offers critical lessons for 911 centers and PSAPs making their own technology decisions.
ESO Solutions, backed by Vista Equity Partners, a firm managing approximately $100 billion in assets, has been particularly aggressive.
After acquiring Emergency Reporting, a platform serving 7,500 fire and EMS agencies, ESO announced it would shut the product down entirely. Departments were told their only option was to migrate to ESO’s preferred platform at significantly higher costs.
For agencies that wanted to take their own historical data with them, the price was $1,200 just to access their own records.
“We don’t have a big tax base,” said Matthew Ludwig, assistant fire chief in Norfolk, Connecticut, where the department operates on an annual budget of $132,000. “We have to watch our pennies.”
Greg Whited, volunteer fire chief in Mesilla, New Mexico, compared the experience to an abusive relationship:
“I’m not going to come back with sunglasses on, covering a black eye. You’ve taken advantage of my department.”
If this sounds like a fire department problem, consider the broader implications.
ESO also serves EMS agencies and hospitals. ImageTrend and First Due are actively expanding into adjacent emergency services markets. The same playbook that worked in fire department software is transferable to 911 technology.
The warning signs are already visible.
When a small number of companies control most of the market, customer choice disappears. Fire departments discovered this when searching for alternatives, only to learn those alternatives had already been acquired.
The federal transition from NFIRS to NERIS reporting standards became an opportunity to force platform migrations. ESO informed Emergency Reporting customers that the old platform would not support the new standard, leaving departments with no choice but to switch and pay more.
Technology standards and compliance requirements create natural pressure points that can be exploited.
Historical call data, training records, and operational documentation should belong to the agency. When vendors charge four figures just to export customer data, the relationship is no longer a partnership.
Adrian Mintz, co-founder of Emergency Reporting, was a longtime firefighter and EMT who deliberately kept prices low for volunteer organizations.
After venture capital investment and eventual acquisition, that mission-driven approach disappeared.
“We were all aware that volunteer organizations were not going to have a lot of money to spend,” Mintz said. “We deliberately kept prices down.”
Fire departments learned these lessons the hard way. 911 centers can be proactive by asking the right questions before signing contracts.
Independent companies answer to customers. Private equity-backed companies answer to investors expecting returns. That distinction matters when renewal time comes.
Get it in writing. Can you export complete historical data at any time, in standard formats, at no cost? Anything less is a red flag.
If growth depends on acquisitions, agencies need to know what happens to existing platforms, pricing, and support.
Transparent and predictable pricing protects agencies. Discretionary pricing that can double or triple at renewal creates significant risk.
ESO’s CEO, Eric Beck, justified shutting down Emergency Reporting by stating, “we can’t invest in multiple platforms and sustain the rate of innovation.”
Translated plainly, the business model requires consolidation to function. That should raise concern.
Not every emergency services technology company follows the private equity playbook.
Some companies still operate with a mission-driven approach, building tools specifically for the unique constraints of public safety agencies. These companies tend to share common characteristics:
Independent ownership structures focused on long-term relationships
Transparent pricing that does not spike unexpectedly at renewal
True data portability
Integration strategies that work with existing systems
Founders with real emergency services experience
At Convey911, founder Jeff Bruns came from the fire service. That background informs product design, pricing philosophy, and customer relationships. The company has deliberately chosen not to follow the private equity model.
Mark Niemeyer, head of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, recently advised chiefs:
“Don’t be afraid to push back.”
That advice only works when alternatives exist. Market consolidation removes those alternatives.
The 911 community has an opportunity to learn from fire departments before facing the same consequences. That means asking harder questions during vendor selection, demanding contractual protections around pricing and data, and supporting companies that prioritize mission over exit.
Because when communities depend on emergency services in their most critical moments, technology partnerships matter.
The vendor chosen today shapes the capabilities available tomorrow, and the price required to keep them.
Fire departments are learning this lesson now.
The 911 community still has time to choose differently.
Convey911 is an independent emergency communications platform providing language translation, Text-to-911, and unified communications tools to PSAPs and emergency services across North America.
Founded by emergency services professionals, Convey911 remains focused on eliminating language barriers through transparent partnerships and mission-driven innovation.
Learn more at convey911.com