The short version
- A fire's distance doesn't tell the whole story. A fire with the wind blowing toward you is very different from one with the wind blowing away.
- The FireShield map shows the wind's direction and speed as moving streaks.
- The app also shows the weather and forecast for your address: wind, humidity, temperature, rain chance and air quality.
- What starts the system: distance and delay. Wind and weather help you decide; they don't change the activation distance on their own.
- Wind-aware hazard analysis is described in our patent.
Most fire apps show where fires are. They usually don't show the wind, which often decides where a fire goes next.
Distance alone is not enough
A fire with the wind blowing from it toward your house is much more dangerous, because wind carries embers far ahead of the flames, and embers are what usually set houses on fire.
The same fire with the wind blowing the other way is something to keep an eye on.
That's why the app shows the wind, not just the distance.
What the map shows
The FireShield map shows the wind across the whole map, not just one arrow.
Moving streaks show which way the wind is blowing and how fast.
That lets you see whether the wind is blowing from a fire toward your house.
The weather is for your address
The home screen shows today's weather for your address: temperature, wind, rain chance, humidity and air quality, plus the forecast.
Humidity matters because dry air dries out brush and grass, which helps fires spread. Low humidity with strong wind is the most dangerous combination.
A rising air quality number usually means smoke is already reaching you.
What the wind does not do
FireShield's automatic start is based on distance. When a fire comes within your activation distance (how close a fire has to get), the delay counts down and the system starts. Wind and humidity don't change that distance on their own.
If you want, wind and weather can help you decide whether to start the system early or which zones to run. You don't have to. The system runs automatically either way.
Our patent describes hazard analysis that combines wind direction, fuel condition, terrain and fire location into a per-property risk assessment — directly connecting that analysis to physical actuation. That is the direction this is going. It is not what ships in the trigger today, and we are not going to describe a filing as a feature.
The wind and weather are there to help you decide.
How to use it, if you want to
- Look at the wind between the fire and your house, not just the distance.
- Check the humidity. Dry air helps fires spread.
- Pick zones based on the wind, if you like. By default every zone runs.
- Widen your activation distance on a red flag day, if you want. The installer's setting works year-round.
What to ask
- Does the app show me wind direction and speed around my property, or only fire locations?
- Is the weather for my address or the nearest city?
- Does wind affect when the system starts? If the answer is yes, ask exactly how.
Ask any company that question, including FireShield. For FireShield, the answer is no: distance starts the system, and the wind and weather in the app are there to help you decide.