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29 November 2024
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Alberta-made 100-foot sprinkler tower heralded as the latest wildfire fighting tool
Perhaps the world’s largest pop-up sprinkler, a new telescoping tower-of-shower is bringing its portable cloud to a wildfire soon. “These 100-foot towers can spray water over a forest canopy, the top of the trees, so when a wildfire is approaching, these can be pre-set up and help to mitigate the potential damage from wildfires coming in,” said firefighting consultant Brian McIntosh. He has many years of experience battling fires in Canada and around the world, and he sees real promise in the RainStream.
“They lower the temperature in the area, as well as increase the relative humidity, and that can help extinguish embers and sparks that may come into an area that might be around homes, buildings, infrastructure,” he said.
The tower units come on their own trailers for portability. A hose is hooked up to a nearby water source, and a pump pulls the water up to the desired height.
“Depending on the wind, this can spray a diameter of up to 1 000 feet, equivalent to 300 metres. And depending on the wind direction, you can have a mist that can also help mitigate the risk of wildfires,” McIntosh said.
‘Make it rain’
The Calgary-based company that developed the new wildfire-fighting tool for municipalities, Wildfire Innovations Inc. (WFI), was founded by Don Hallett who was twice evacuated under threat of wildfires.
The tower needs a water source to run, a lake or a creek or even a hydrant, to fulfil the company motto, “We make it rain.”
Given the H2O, it can deliver 2.5 millimetres of “rain” each hour, so four hours of running time yields 10 millimetres of rainfall to the ground, McIntosh said. “It’s pretty much mimicking rain coming down out of the sky, out of the top of the tree canopy. It’s a soaking effect,” he said. “As long as you have water, these can run essentially 24 hours a day.”
A lot at stake
In North America, wildfires cause an estimated $100 billion worth of damage each year, displacing more than two million people, and wildfire suppression runs a hefty North American price tag of $5 billion.
Globally, wildfires contribute a staggering 2 170 megatonnes of CO2 emissions.
Other applications for RainStream include moviemaking or fire mitigation for prescribed burns, to keep a purpose-driven fire from getting out of hand, McIntosh said.
“It can help keep that fire where you want it to be and not be escaping into the forest or grasslands,” he said.
The setup is being marketed to municipalities, First Nations communities, and industrial interests such as oil-and-gas facilities.
It differs from others taking a ground-based approach to fire prevention sprinklers,
Jurisdictions or companies can either buy the units outright or rent them during wildfire season.
“Depending on what’s being protected, there can be one, or there can be several of these in a fleet set up to help mitigate the risk,” McIntosh said.
He cited Jasper townsite as an example; roughly one-third of the mountain town was razed by wildfire in July.
“If there’s an approaching wildfire, there’s time to have these towers set up ahead of time before the fire approaches the community, to help mitigate the risk of wildfire,” he said.
Had they been in place in Jasper, the news headlines might have been different, he said.
“I think there would be a high probability that the losses would have been significantly reduced for either loss of homes or businesses and other infrastructure,” he said.
McIntosh is a global wildfire consultant, who had a 37-year career with the Alberta Forest Service and the BC Wildfire Service.
He’s consulted on wildfire work in Australia, Argentina and the United States, as well as Indonesia.
Had they been in place in Jasper, the news headlines might have been different, he said.
“I think there would be a high probability that the losses would have been significantly reduced for either loss of homes or businesses and other infrastructure,” he said.
McIntosh is a global wildfire consultant, who had a 37-year career with the Alberta Forest Service and the B.C. Wildfire Service. He’s consulted on wildfire work in Australia, Argentina and the United States, as well as Indonesia.
The company’s a startup, so the product is new. The rig could also be used for the forest industry and forestry companies doing prescribed burns. Set up on the perimeter, they could help keep a constructive burn from getting away from its managers, McIntosh added.
Source: Edmonton Journal
“They lower the temperature in the area, as well as increase the relative humidity, and that can help extinguish embers and sparks that may come into an area that might be around homes, buildings, infrastructure,” he said.
The tower units come on their own trailers for portability. A hose is hooked up to a nearby water source, and a pump pulls the water up to the desired height.
“Depending on the wind, this can spray a diameter of up to 1 000 feet, equivalent to 300 metres. And depending on the wind direction, you can have a mist that can also help mitigate the risk of wildfires,” McIntosh said.
‘Make it rain’
The Calgary-based company that developed the new wildfire-fighting tool for municipalities, Wildfire Innovations Inc. (WFI), was founded by Don Hallett who was twice evacuated under threat of wildfires.
The tower needs a water source to run, a lake or a creek or even a hydrant, to fulfil the company motto, “We make it rain.”
Given the H2O, it can deliver 2.5 millimetres of “rain” each hour, so four hours of running time yields 10 millimetres of rainfall to the ground, McIntosh said. “It’s pretty much mimicking rain coming down out of the sky, out of the top of the tree canopy. It’s a soaking effect,” he said. “As long as you have water, these can run essentially 24 hours a day.”
A lot at stake
In North America, wildfires cause an estimated $100 billion worth of damage each year, displacing more than two million people, and wildfire suppression runs a hefty North American price tag of $5 billion.
Globally, wildfires contribute a staggering 2 170 megatonnes of CO2 emissions.
Other applications for RainStream include moviemaking or fire mitigation for prescribed burns, to keep a purpose-driven fire from getting out of hand, McIntosh said.
“It can help keep that fire where you want it to be and not be escaping into the forest or grasslands,” he said.
The setup is being marketed to municipalities, First Nations communities, and industrial interests such as oil-and-gas facilities.
It differs from others taking a ground-based approach to fire prevention sprinklers,
Jurisdictions or companies can either buy the units outright or rent them during wildfire season.
“Depending on what’s being protected, there can be one, or there can be several of these in a fleet set up to help mitigate the risk,” McIntosh said.
He cited Jasper townsite as an example; roughly one-third of the mountain town was razed by wildfire in July.
“If there’s an approaching wildfire, there’s time to have these towers set up ahead of time before the fire approaches the community, to help mitigate the risk of wildfire,” he said.
Had they been in place in Jasper, the news headlines might have been different, he said.
“I think there would be a high probability that the losses would have been significantly reduced for either loss of homes or businesses and other infrastructure,” he said.
McIntosh is a global wildfire consultant, who had a 37-year career with the Alberta Forest Service and the BC Wildfire Service.
He’s consulted on wildfire work in Australia, Argentina and the United States, as well as Indonesia.
Had they been in place in Jasper, the news headlines might have been different, he said.
“I think there would be a high probability that the losses would have been significantly reduced for either loss of homes or businesses and other infrastructure,” he said.
McIntosh is a global wildfire consultant, who had a 37-year career with the Alberta Forest Service and the B.C. Wildfire Service. He’s consulted on wildfire work in Australia, Argentina and the United States, as well as Indonesia.
The company’s a startup, so the product is new. The rig could also be used for the forest industry and forestry companies doing prescribed burns. Set up on the perimeter, they could help keep a constructive burn from getting away from its managers, McIntosh added.
Source: Edmonton Journal
