Fire Protection in High Risk Areas 2

Year after year fire devastates the lives of thousands of people. Many of us have seen images of fires that gut entire neighborhoods and level hundreds of thousands of acres of pristine forest. Admittedly, many of these fires are caused by lightening strikes and are believed to be a part of a natural cycle. Then there are fires caused by negligence and arson. No matter how wildfires begin the results are always the sameloss of life, loss of property, and utilization of ever decreasing resources.

The containment of wildfire is complicated by a variety of things, such as difficult terrain, lack of manpower, equipment limitations, poor forest management and the use of highly combustible building products. All of these factors will fuel a fire, allowing it to go for days or even weeks.

So, how do we protect homes and people from wildfire without limiting our desires to enjoy the beauty of the wilderness? I think part of the solution might be to devise a sprinkler system of sorts,similar to the ones found in buildings around the world. The primary difference being that these outdoor sprinkler systems would be designed to extinguish fires that threaten homes and property.

If you go to my website <<link moved to links area, below>> I have made a crude drawing of how the system would work.

Essentially, runoff water from rain, snow melt, and community use (ie: lawn sprinklers, car washing, etc.) would be captured and stored in large underground or above ground cisterns. Since areas prone to wildfire are not necessarily burned each year water collection could occur over several seasons, assuring adequate quantities.

When fire threatens property or a group of houses, pump stations, powered by gas generators would activate, sending the reserved water into the air and dousing the approaching flames. Grid systems could be established to protect entire communities. And since not all of a particular area is at equal risk, the grid system could be computer activated to direct water to those areas that have the greatest need.

Its like watering a golf course, just on a larger scale. And part of the beauty of this system is that the water being used to extinguish the fires could be immediately re-collected, extending its use even further.