Technology
Works on its own. Safe by default. Built for wildfire conditions.
FireShield uses live fire data to decide when to start, and starts on its own, even if no one is awake, home or reachable. If something fails, it is designed to shut off safely. Wildfires often come when the power is out, phones are down and water pressure is low, so the system is built to handle all three.
Safe by default, by design
Closes by default
If power or control is lost, the isolation valve is designed to shut on its own, so the default state is closed.
Picks up where it left off
It saves its status as it runs, so after a power cut it continues where it stopped.
Local start
A button, a remote trigger or an on-site detector can start it even when networks are unavailable.
Drains itself
When a run ends it is designed to empty the lines and return to unpressurized standby, unattended.
The whole system
One system that covers the whole house
Roof rotors wet the roof and gutters, eave sprayers the walls, perimeter heads the ground around it. One controller on the wall runs every zone, draws from the mains, a pool or a tank, mixes foam into the water, and runs on grid power, a battery, solar or a generator. It stays connected over whichever network is still working.
Monitoring and service
Every system is monitored and supported.
Design decisions
Six design choices that set FireShield apart
Together, they keep the system working when power, phones and water fail around it.
01
No fan. No operating system.
The two components most likely to fail in a wildfire are a cooling fan and a general-purpose computer. A fan pulls in dust and ash, and a computer takes time to start up, which you don’t have in a fire. The controller is a solid-state device built on a microcontroller, sealed in a hooded weather-rated enclosure, with a manual start and a key switch on its face. There are no moving parts and no startup delay.
02
Settings are stored in a file, not built into the software
Zone count, valve drive times, pressure thresholds, which outputs do what — all of it is read from a configuration file the controller interprets. One controller runs up to 36 zones, where typical systems in this category run 6 to 8, and a property can have as many controllers as it needs, working together in one app. An eight-zone cottage and a multi-building estate run identical hardware and identical code. The screen on the unit shows its status at a glance: Ready, Pending with its countdown, or Active with the zone, manifold and valve it is running, along with water pressure, power, foam level and each connection.
03
Standby is unpressurized — and it closes by default
A main valve stays closed and keeps the sprinkler pipes empty while the system is on standby. If it loses power or signal, it is designed to close on its own. Closing does not depend on the software. Nothing on your roof sits under pressure for years in the heat, over-pressure relief resets itself, and after every run a drain sequence returns the lines to empty standby.
04
The pump runs only when it is needed
Some systems energize a pump the moment line pressure drops, so it cycles whenever a neighbor opens a tap. The FireShield pump runs only when the controller has determined both that the system is engaged and that supply pressure is genuinely insufficient. Every state is committed to non-volatile memory: if the power drops mid-run, the controller picks up where it stopped, including the countdown and the zone, without needing the internet.
05
Three ways to connect, and it can still start without any of them
Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite, in interchangeable modules, with the antenna placed where it gets the best signal, not just on the box. A wildfire takes the power and the phone network together, usually at the moment you are furthest from home. And if every link is gone, it can still be started locally: a manual button, a remote trigger or an on-site detector can activate it without the cloud.
06
Uses any water source you have
Mains first, then a pool, a tank or a well, with the switchover managed by the controller and firefighting foam proportioned into the line as it runs. Utility power, then battery, solar and generator. In a neighborhood fire, everyone turns on their water at once and the power often goes out. The system is designed to keep working without either.
From the drawings
From satellite data to the sprinklers at your house
Satellites, fire cameras, agency perimeters and sensors on the ground are combined into one map of how likely each spot is to burn, recomputed as the fire, the wind and the fuel change. Today the system starts on its own when a fire comes within the distance set for your house and the countdown runs out, and you can choose which zones run. Turning the risk map directly into water on the zones facing the fire, starting with the side closest to it, is covered by our patent.
Built for outdoors
Made to last for years on an outside wall, in any weather
Conformal coating on the boards, a weather-rated enclosure, and an internal battery with an optional solar top-up so the system keeps running when the power goes out.
It also reports its status at all times. Pressure, flow, valve positions, connectivity and battery all report continuously, and the display on the box shows the same thing the app does — so what you see on your phone is what someone standing at the wall would see.
The engineering, in brief
The same engineering, deployed coast to coast and supported from Los Angeles.
- Autonomous by default
- The controller makes the activation decision itself from the fire data; zero touch from the owner.
- 36 zones on one solid-state controller
- Typical controllers in this category drive 6 to 8 zones.
- Controllers that scale out
- Multi-building properties run several controllers side by side, each configured for its structure, all in one app.
- Standard platform, custom details
- Identical, proven controller hardware everywhere; a dedicated engineer optimizes the layout, configuration and custom-made parts for each home.
- Integrated into the building
- On new construction the plumbing and wiring are concealed in the structure; on retrofits they follow attics and eaves.
- Redundant connectivity
- Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite links with battery backup.
Every property gets its own design
Zone layout, discharge placement and water sources depend on your roof, your water supply and the wind in your area. The equipment is the same for every home, but the setup is different.