If I knew how to go about creating high quality parts that companies such as BrickForge are able to create, I wouldn't hesitate to take it upon myself to invest in the firefighter/ rescue market for tools and equipment. There are literally hundreds of enthusiasts who model fire engines and ambulances and recreate amazing scenes of fires, car accidents and other rescue incidents. These groups and individuals can be seen on MOCpages, flickr, specialized forums and groups on yahoo or even EmergencyBricks.com

Tools that seem like they'd be relatively easy and inexpensive to create but would yield high profit margins include:

Fire Dept Related:
halligan bars, nozzles, pike poles, denver tools, realistic ladders, jaws of life, extinguishers, assorted hand tools, air packs, customized fire helmets to make them a bit more realistic.

EMS Related:
LifePack Cardiac Monitors, realistic stretchers/cots, iv bags, stethoscopes, oxygen tanks, "jump bags" and many more.

I am personally a firefighter and paramedic in real life and would be happy to act as an adviser to help narrow down what would be best suited to this niche community, most recognizable, and of course what would be simplest and most feasible to be created. That is, if you do decide to take a stab at what I believe is indeed a really good market to tap into.

(There are plenty of builders who have spent thousands just on their trucks, and there is a large post in many forums including my own talking about their desire to purchase custom firefighting gear if it was out there)

This is a really good idea. I'd like to see some of this stuff. At first it sounds like a niche market but I can think of plenty of uses for this stuff outside of firefighter/paremedic stuff.

I for one would buy at least 1/2 dozen fire extinguishers if they looked realistic and were able to sit on top of a stud (like the 1x1 round brick + tap combo that I am currently using)
And I would buy a whole PILE of the medical stuff if it was offered.

I recon you could fill an entire mold with just fire and medical gear (or even 2 molds) and still sell more than enough to cover the costs if the designs are good enough

Firefighting equipment is something BrickForge has discussed in the past and the possibility is there. In other words..."We'd tap that"

So far the response has been pretty enthusiastic on my personal website for this niche community: http://emergencybricks.com/community/

"At this point I would seriously look at paying upwards of $5.00 for a traditional helmet in varying colors"

So you have older guys, not just kids willing to pay top dollar

And yes I agree that many of the tools/ equipment would be able to be utilized outside of this community. It's just a matter go picking the right things to create.

Just giving this one a refresh. I'd not read this topic but a lot of the stuff mentioned could have some cool applications in stuff I'm doing.

i agree so much ive posted and emailed them for items like this

There has been some renewed interest lately, some members trying to do this solo via shapeways, but still no retailers taking any interest in producing Fire/Rescue/Medical tid bits yet.

2013 .....