Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have called in private firefighters to save their Hidden Hills home from the ongoing Woolsey wildfire—and, unlike many of the privileges available to them and few others, this one also benefited the people around them. TMZ spoke with “a few neighbors” who are thanking the Kardashian-Wests for hiring the private squad to not only protect their $60 million mansion, but dig ditches that would prevent the fire from spreading to other houses.

Private firefighting squads, or “concierge” firefighters, are nothing new for members of the 1 percent living in fire-prone areas. As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2007, the insurance company AIG offers the services of a Wildfire Protection Unit to residents in some of California’s richest zip codes—including Malibu, which has been threatened by the recent fires—and a dozen resort areas in Colorado. The premiums for the service at the time were at least $10,000, in order to protect homes worth at least $1 million.

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Just last year, residents of California who were threatened with wildfires were able to decamp to safer ground while their private teams took care of their properties. As Quartz noted, the firefighters use fire-blocking gels and foams to stop the flames. They might also have their own sprinklers, or can hook up to a fire hydrant if needed.

Other California residents, meanwhile, are relying on the thousands of firefighters who are California prison inmates being paid $1 an hour to fight fires, and who are often denied paid work as firefighters when they are released.

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