<PAGE>   1
                                                                Exhibit 10.16(k)

                        SEPARATION AGREEMENT AND RELEASE

         THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of the 31st day of December
1998 (the "Effective Date"), by and between RURAL/METRO CORPORATION AND ITS
AFFILIATES AND SUBSIDIARIES ("Rural/Metro") and ROBERT T. EDWARDS ("Employee").

                                    RECITALS:

         A. Employee has been employed by Rural/Metro in the position of
Executive Vice President.

         B. Employee and Rural/Metro entered into the attached employment
agreement dated October 27, 1995 ("Employment Agreement"), which governs the
terms and conditions of Employee's employment with, and separation from,
Rural/Metro.

         C. Employee and Rural/Metro have entered into the attached terms of
resignation document dated September 30, 1998 ("Terms of Resignation").

         D. Employee has resigned his position as of the Effective Date, and
Rural/Metro and Employee now desire to enter into this Agreement.

         D. Employee has had the opportunity to be represented by independent
legal counsel throughout the negotiations that resulted in this Agreement, as
well as the opportunity to consult with legal counsel as to the meaning and
legal significance of this Agreement.

         E. Employee has been given the opportunity to consider entering into
this Agreement for twenty-one (21) days preceding its execution. Employee
further acknowledges that this Agreement, including the Release of Claims, is
revocable and does not take effect for seven (7) days following Employee's
execution thereof. Following the expiration of that seven (7) day period, this
Agreement, including the Release of Claims, is effective and irrevocable.

         F. Employee enters into this Agreement freely, voluntarily and with a
full and complete understanding of the terms of this Agreement and all of the
rights which are being forever surrendered, released, discharged, and settled as
a result of this Agreement, including any legal rights or claims against
Rural/Metro.

         G. The parties agree and understand that by entering into this
Agreement, there is no implication or admission of liability or wrongdoing by
either party and that the existence and execution of this Agreement shall not be
considered, and shall not be admissible, in any proceeding as an admission by
the parties, or any of the agents or employees, of any liability, error, or
violation of law.
<PAGE>   2
         H. An integral part of this Agreement is the promise of the parties to
keep all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement confidential, and not to
disclose those terms to any third party who is not identified in this Agreement.

         NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals and the
mutual covenants and promises hereinafter set forth, and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the
parties agree as follows:

         1. RECITALS. The recitals above are incorporated into this Agreement by
this reference.

         2. RESIGNATION OF EMPLOYMENT. Employee's last day of employment with
Rural/Metro will be the Effective Date. As of such date, Employee shall have no
further authority or obligation to act as an employee of Rural/Metro, or
represent that Employee is an employee of Rural/Metro.

         3. PAYMENT. In exchange and in consideration for the releases, waivers
and promises contained in this Agreement, Rural/Metro shall pay Employee as
follows, less any and all appropriate and lawful tax and fringe benefit
deductions:

            a. SEVERANCE PAYMENT AND DEDUCTIONS. Rural/Metro shall continue to
pay to Employee his final base salary through December 31, 2000, as severance
pay. Said severance shall be payable on Rural/Metro's regular paydays each month
in equal installments, with the first payment being due as soon as
administratively possible following receipt by Rural/Metro of Employee's signed
Agreement.

            b. VACATION PAY. Rural/Metro shall pay to Employee any unused
vacation time earned during the calendar year 1998. Said vacation pay shall be
payable by separate check.

            c. BENEFITS. Pursuant to the terms of the Employment Agreement,
Employee is entitled to a continuation of his health, life, disability and other
insurance benefits, including medical, dental and vision coverage. Employee's
currant Rural/Metro health care coverage will remain in place through December
31, 1998. Thereafter, these benefits will be provided to Employee under COBRA
should Employee so elect. For the period of January 1, 1999, through December
31, 2000, Rural/Metro shall pay the difference between the COBRA premiums and
Employee's current regular health insurance deductions. A notification letter
regarding COBRA benefits will be mailed to Employee.

            With regard to life insurance and disability premiums, these items
will be handled in accordance with the attached memo dated December 28, 1998
("Memo").

            d. CONSULTING SERVICES. Commencing January 1, 1999, and terminating
June 30, 1999 (unless renewed by mutual agreement), Employee agrees to provide
consulting services to Rural/Metro pursuant to the Terms of Resignation. Monthly
compensation shall be
<PAGE>   3
Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) plus approved expenses. In the
event that it is found that the consulting services are exceeding twenty-five
(25) hours per month, Rural/Metro shall pay for time in excess of twenty-five
(25) hours per month at the rate of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) per
hour.

         4. TERMINATION OF PAYMENTS. In the event Employee materially violates
any portion of the Non-Disclosure, Confidentiality, or Communication provisions
of this Agreement (Paragraphs 6, 7 and 8), or the Nonsolicitation of Clients,
Nonsolicitation of Employees, or Competing Business provisions of this Agreement
(Paragraphs 9, 10 and 11), any portion of the Employment Agreement, or any
portion of the Terms of Resignation, Rural/Metro may immediately terminate the
payments set forth in Paragraph 3(a), (c) and (d). Should such a termination of
payments occur, it shall not invalidate or nullify any other provisions of this
Agreement, nor shall it constitute a lack or failure of consideration for this
Agreement.

         5. RELEASE OF CLAIMS. In consideration of the promises, covenants and
benefits provided herein, which the parties agree are sufficient consideration,
and which Employee hereby acknowledges receipt hereof by Employee's signature
below, Employee hereby discharges, releases and forever forgives Rural/Metro
from any and all liabilities and claims under federal, state or common law
arising out of Employee's employment and/or termination of employment, including
but not limited to: employment discrimination under any state Civil Rights Act
and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; age discrimination under the Age
Discrimination Employment Act (29 U.S.C. Section 626); wrongful discharge;
breach of employment contract (express or implied); breach of duty of good faith
and fair dealing; tortious interference with contract; intentional and negligent
infliction of emotional distress; payment of wages, including vacation pay, sick
leave pay, severance pay, "bonus" pay; and any other compensation; claims for
payment of amounts due under Rural/Metro's ESOP; claims for benefits; claims for
stock options; claims for recovery of attorneys' fees; and any and all other
related claims that could be raised by Employee against Rural/Metro as a result
of Employee's employment with Rural/Metro, which are now existing, presently
known, or hereafter discovered.

         By this Agreement, Employee affirms that Employee understands
Employee's release of any age discrimination claim is a release of any legal
rights or claims pursuant to the Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967 (29
U.S.C. Section 626, as amended October 1990) including, but not limited to,
claims for back pay, reinstatement and liquidated damages relating to
allegations or claims of age discrimination by Employee against Rural/Metro that
exist as of the date of the execution of this Agreement, whether presently known
or hereafter discovered.

         6. NON-DISCLOSURE COVENANT. Employee understands and agrees that while
employed by Rural/Metro, Employee worked with, was exposed to, and had access to
a substantial amount of confidential and/or proprietary information, including,
but not limited to: wage and salary information (general and specific); the
financial condition and/or operation of Rural/Metro; employee names and
positions; customer names and relationships; internal policies and procedures;
pending claims, lawsuits, and administrative proceedings involving the
corporation; strategic plans; trade secrets; and any and all other types of
confidential and/or
<PAGE>   4
proprietary information or documents (the "Confidential Information").

         The parties expressly recognize that should Employee divulge the
Confidential Information to any third party, it could seriously impair the
goodwill and diminish the value of Rural/Metro. Therefore, on or before the
Effective Date, Employee will return to Rural/Metro any and all documents and
materials, originals and/or copies, computer printouts, floppy discs, etc.,
containing Confidential Information, including, but not limited to, financial
information, business plans, strategic plans, marketing strategies, personnel
and compensation information, and other such reports, documents or information.

         Employee shall not, at any time in the future, divulge any Confidential
Information, including, but not limited to, that information identified above,
to any third person, without the express written consent of the Chief Executive
Officer of Rural/Metro. This Agreement is not intended to restrict the
communication of information that is already in the public domain.

         7. CONFIDENTIALITY. The parties promise and covenant that each and
every term of this Agreement shall remain and be kept confidential by all
parties and shall not be disclosed to any third party.

         If the release or disclosure of any of the terms of this Agreement are
sought from any party to this Agreement, such party shall state, "The terms of
our agreement require me not to disclose its terms." Thereafter, the party
requested to disclose shall timely notify the other party of the request and
will not voluntarily release the Agreement or any of its terms if the other
party raises a valid objection. The other party shall promptly respond to any
such notification. Failure to do so shall release the requested party from any
responsibility if a disclosure is then made. Should one party breach this
provision, that shall not release or permit the other party to breach the
provision.

         Due to the nature of Employee's position with Rural/Metro, and with
full realization that a violation of the non-disclosure and confidentiality
provisions of this Agreement will cause immediate and irreparable injury and
damage, which is not readily measurable, and to protect Rural/Metro's interests,
Employee understands and agrees that in addition to instituting legal
proceedings to recover damages resulting from such a breach of this Agreement,
and forfeiture of benefits provided in Paragraph 3 above, Rural/Metro may seek
to enforce the terms of this Agreement with an action for injunctive relief, to
cease or prevent any actual or threatened violation on the part of Employee.

         8. COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. The parties agree that in the
event Rural/Metro is contacted by any third parties for a reference on Employee,
Rural/Metro will inform them only of Employee's dates of employment, last
position held, and duties and responsibilities of said position.

         If Employee is asked any questions about Rural/Metro, or if the topic
of Rural/Metro becomes the topic of any inquiry, conversation, interview or
other discussion, Employee shall not
<PAGE>   5
make any negative or damaging comments about Rural/Metro or any aspect of
Rural/Metro, including, but not limited to, its management, financial condition,
operations, customer satisfaction, employee relations, customer base, etc.

         9.  NONSOLICITATION OF CLIENTS. For a period of twenty-four (24) months
after the Effective Date, the Employee shall not directly or indirectly, for
himself, or on behalf of, or in conjunction with, any other person(s), company,
partnership, corporation, or governmental entity, in any manner whatsoever, call
upon, contact, encourage, or solicit client(s) of Rural/Metro with whom the
Employee has worked as an employee of Rural/Metro at any time prior to the
Effective Date, or on the Effective Date, for the purpose of soliciting or
selling such client the same, similar, or related services that the Employee
provided on behalf of Rural/Metro.

         10. NONSOLICITATION OF EMPLOYEES. For a period of twenty-four (24)
months after the Effective Date, the Employee shall not directly or indirectly,
for himself, or on behalf of, or in conjunction with, any other person(s),
company, partnership, corporation, or governmental entity, seek to hire, and/or
hire any of Rural/Metro's personnel or employees for the purpose of having such
employee engage in services that are the same, similar or related to the
services that such employee provided for Rural/Metro.

         11. COMPETING BUSINESS. For a period of twenty-four (24) months after
the Effective Date, the Employee shall not, directly or indirectly, for himself,
or on behalf of, or in conjunction with, any other person(s), company,
partnership, corporation, or governmental entity, in any manner whatsoever,
engage in the same or similar business as Rural/Metro, which would be in direct
competition with any Rural/Metro line of business, in any geographical service
area where Rural/Metro is engaged in business, or was considering engaging in
business at any time prior to the Effective Date, or on the Effective Date. For
the purposes of this provision, the term "competition" shall mean directly
engaging in or having a substantial interest in a business or operation which
has been, is, or will be, performing the same services provided by Rural/Metro.

         12. BINDING EFFECT. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to
the benefit of the parties, their respective successors, heirs, legal
representatives, and assigns.

         13. ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement shall not be assignable by any party
without the written prior consent of the other party and any attempted
assignment without such consent shall be considered null and void.

         14. LEGAL FEES. The parties shall be responsible for their own costs
and attorneys' fees incurred in connection with this Agreement. In the event
there is any litigation involving the enforcement of this Agreement, the
prevailing party shall recover their reasonable attorneys' fees and costs in
such a proceeding.

         15. SEVERABILITY. In the event a court declares that any provision of
this Agreement is unenforceable or invalid, it shall not affect or invalidate
any of the remaining provisions. Further, the court shall have the authority to
modify the provisions to make said
<PAGE>   6
provisions enforceable, if possible.

         16. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement, including its attachments,
constitutes the entire agreement and understanding among the parties with
respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes any and all prior
oral and written agreements or understandings. Any amendment, modification or
change to this Agreement must be in writing and signed by the party against whom
the enforcement of such modification or amendment is sought.

         17. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be subject to and governed by
the laws of the State of Arizona.


         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Rural/Metro has caused this Agreement to be signed
by its duly authorized representative and Employee has executed this Agreement,
all as of the Effective Date.


RURAL/METRO CORPORATION                       ROBERT T. EDWARDS


/s/ John B. Furman                            /s/ Robert T. Edwards
___________________________________           __________________________________
By:      John B. Furman
Title:   President and CEO                    Date:  January 20, 1999
Date:    January 4, 1999