Welcome to the better for better wildfire page to present an amazing yet simple new concept for saving homes from wildfire. Fire hydrant networks are not designed to protect entire neighborhoods from large wind driven wildfires which should be very evident by now. Of the 20 most destructive wildfires in California history, 15 of them have happened in the last 10 years. It’s time to think outside the box for new solutions….
The water to protect homes is already right where it's needed.
Homes should not burn while pools sit full yet it keeps happening fire after fire. Flow rates in excess of 50X greater than entire hydrant networks would’ve been possible for many of the most destructive wildfires in California history. See the slider below.
A typical pool in California holds around 20,000 gallons of water. That’s a massive resource!
Make it Rain!
Just image a much larger version of the following with higher flow rates and longer throw distances…
- Produces up to 1600 GPM
- Shot range over 275 feet
- Singe person operation
- Up & running < 1 minute
- Remote start & operation capable
This is the worlds largest land based pump and monitor combination. It’s capable of throwing an entire swimming pool over 600 feet in less than 1 minute. That’s amazing! Granted this unit is a bit large for throwing pools but gives you an idea of what’s possible.
The PTU (Pool Throwing Unit) solution
Big power in a compact design that can quickly navigate small pathways to reach backyard pools. See the depiction below comparing a PTU (Pool Throwing Unit) to a typical single person hand line.
That’s incredible power in the control of a single operator. No dragging heavy lines around. With a 275+ foot range, numerous homes can be protected at once. See the video below for a similar setup in action.
The ability to throw pool water nearly the length of a football field with a portable system is a game changer. Fire crews can literally make it rain!
A quick example from the Palisades Fire. See the zoomed in red area on map image below where the fire swept through Pacific Palisades and destroyed almost every home along its path to the Pacific Ocean. The light blue markers show all the swimming pools. The blue circles represent the coverage of just 24 PTU’s. At full rate these units would produce a wall of water over a mile wide at nearly 40,000 gallons per minute.
These PTU’s could be deployed over and over again while following the fire to produce well in excess of 10 million gallons in just a matter of hours. Imagine if firefighters would’ve had 100’s of PTU’s available, with 2600+ pools in the path of destruction, so many homes could’ve been saved.
Visit our California Wildfires page to see how variations of this concept would’ve applied to past wildfires to save so many homes.
Small Fires
This concept is not limited to these large highly destructive fires, it will sometimes be the best tool for smaller fires as well. The California Coastal Fire of 2022 destroyed 20 multi-million dollar homes along a short street while over 1 million gallons of water sat unused.
Planes performed drops while Fire Engines were on the scene but they were unable to prevent this destruction. The news reporter in the video even comments on the long turn time of the planes. The water was already there!
The red markers show the homes that were destroyed while the blue markers show the pools just along this hillside street. The light blue circles show the approximate water coverage of just 6 PTU’s at an amazing 9600 gallons per minute. Homes should not burn while pools sit full! Again with proper community planning, fire crews can literally make it rain.
Our Goal!
To see swimming pools saving homes in 2025. Please follow us on X and share this with others. Thank you.