Marcus Gaius Crassus made his first fortune by starting a fire company in ancient Rome when it was all wood frame houses and the only source of energy was open fires. His crews would pull up the burning house with a wagon full of water and offer to buy it for 10 Sestertius on the Aureaus. If the home owner balked, they waited ten minutes and gave a lower offer. We have two expressions from this practice , "fire sale price" and "crass".