What is this all about?

A few years ago my wife and I bought country property in rural Northern California. We had it on good account that there had not been a wildfire in our neighborhood the entire 20th century. However, the hills sure looked golden and the drought meant we were under no illusions.

At my wife's recommendation I started to craft a plan to harden the house against fire. I started with the basic recommendations you can find on the NFPA or CalFire websites, and focused on defensible space. However, being situated at the top of a ridgeline meant that defensible space could only go so far. The ember storm created by any wildfire would eventually catch something on fire.

As a result, I began to concentrate on fire suppression. The pumps I was coming across were all priced between $3,000 and $7,000, which was an unreasonable pricepoint for what I was trying to accomplish. So I set about sourcing the components to make my own cart and pump system and was amazed at how easy it was. I put everything together with minimal effort. It was as close to "plug and play" as you could get and the resulting system was more effective than what was being sold commercially. 

The folks offering these overpriced systems should consider whether this is the best place for such high profit margins. In short, I still struggle to identify the value-add these companies offer when a basic system can be assembled off of Amazon.com.

Fast forward to the Spring of 2020, and the first of two major wildfires was bearing down on our property. I had only finished setting up the system and testing it out the day before, which was a bit of luck we still thank a higher power for. I only had time to deploy the system, soak the property and bug out with my wife and dogs. I called dispatch and let them know where the pump was. During the course of the night, the volunteer fire department drained 7,000 gallons from our 10,000 gallon pool and saved the house. According to the Captain who responded, "if you didn't have that pump I don't think your house would still be standing."

I have come to believe that such affordable rural firefighting equipment should be maintained by everybody with a reliable source of water so they can stage the system, soak or foam the property, and notify dispatch. My hope is this website makes it a bit easier to do that.