a car pulling away at dawn from a house whose roofline is traced with arcs of water
Water on the roof of a house as the owner drives away.

The short version

  • You can set FireShield to start on its own at a time you choose.
  • At the same time, you can choose foam or water and which zones it runs.
  • A schedule never delays protection. If a fire comes within your activation distance first, the normal automatic start takes over and the system starts sooner.
  • When that happens, the system still waits out your usual delay before it sprays, so you still have time to check the alert.
  • An old schedule clears itself, so it never gets in the way.
The FireShield app's Schedule activation window: start on its own after 0 days, 2 hours and 0 minutes, with foam selected, and a note that a fire getting close will start it sooner.
Schedule a start in the FireShield app: pick the days, hours and minutes, choose foam or water, and go.

Wildfires don't wait for a good time. A warning can come in the middle of the night, or a fire can start while you're away from home.

The goal is to get the house wet before the fire arrives.

Wetting the roof, eaves and the ground around the house takes time, so it's better to start before the fire gets close.

Set it and go

In the FireShield app you can schedule a start for a set number of days, hours and minutes from now. Set it, choose whether that run uses foam, and leave. If you want, you can also pick which zones the scheduled run waters; otherwise it runs all of them.

The app shows the start time in plain words, such as "Starts in 2 hours," so a wrong number is easy to spot before you put your phone away.

It is useful in situations like these:

  • Red flag warning. Set it to start before the high winds arrive.
  • Evacuation. Set a start time and leave.
  • Away from home. Set it from your phone, even days ahead.

A schedule can never delay protection

What if you schedule a start for later and a fire comes within your activation distance first?

The system doesn't wait for your schedule.

Automatic activation keeps working while a schedule is set. Whichever comes first, the schedule or the fire, starts the system.

The delay still applies

When a fire takes over from your schedule, the system does not spray right away. It still waits out the delay you have set for automatic activation, so you have time to look at the alert and decide what to do.

Old schedules clear themselves

Once a schedule's time has passed, or the system is already running, the schedule clears itself, so an old schedule never gets in the way.

The rule to remember: a schedule can only move the start time forward. It can never make your house wait for a fire.

What to ask

  • Can I set the system to start at a future time, without being there?
  • If a fire arrives before my scheduled time, what happens?
  • Can I choose foam or water for a scheduled run, and which zones?
  • If a schedule is missed or the system is already running, does it clean itself up?

You can also start the system by hand from the app anytime. A scheduled start covers the times you can't.