In a recent interview with Website Planet, Steve Wolf, founder of Team Wildfire, shared the inspiration and mission behind his innovative approach to wildfire management.
Drawing from experience as a special effects coordinator and volunteer firefighter, Wolf noticed that traditional firefighting tools were inadequate for combating increasingly intense wildfires. Team Wildfire is revolutionizing the field by using vehicle-mounted jet engines as a fast and effective means of deploying fire retardants.
This game-changing method offers a unique and powerful solution to a growing environmental crisis, setting Team Wildfire apart in a market where physical fire suppression tools are sparse.
What inspired you to start Team Wildfire, and what’s your core mission?
Our mission is to provide powerful tools to people who are tasked with controlling the spread of wildfires. The inspiration came from my background as a special effects coordinator in the film industry, where I worked with fire for folks including Tom Cruise and James Cameron.
I noticed two important things. First, wind is the key factor that controls wildfires, and secondly, for the most part, firefighters were equipped with essentially medieval gardening tools, like rakes, shovels, and axes. With fires becoming bigger, faster, and hotter, these tools are no longer adequate. When firefighters told me that it would take nothing short of a hurricane to drive back and douse these fires, I drew on my special effects background to create a Hurricane on Wheels. Owning the wind to own the fire.
I experimented with small jet engines, eventually working up to larger engines like those on Lear Jets.
Having a jet engine mounted on an off-road capable truck allows for continuous and rapid deployment of retardant, and lets us attack all four components of fire. We can blow away fuels, snuff oxygen, generate evaporative and convective cooling to remove heat and stop pyrolytic reactions.
With little more than a crayon sketch on a napkin, I pitched investors and raised $4 million, which is funding our first full-scale prototype. Tim Draper was our first investor.
How does Team Wildfire approach brand strategy?
Our brand strategy is straightforward because the wildfire space has very few competitors. I challenge you to name a company that actually fights wildfires. Many companies are approaching the wildfire catastrophe with passive observational offerings; software, sensors, and cameras. While these technologies are informative, they don’t address the challenge of preventing, controlling, directing, and extinguishing fires. Wildfires are a physical problem that requires physical solutions. It’s the difference between having smoke detectors and owning a fire extinguisher. One tells you that you have a problem, and the other empowers you to do something about it. Data doesn’t douse fires.
Very few companies are building technologies that actually put out wildfires. This strikes me as an enormous and obvious gap in the market.
In building our brand awareness, we focus heavily on public relations, including interviews with television networks, newspapers, magazines, and radio shows, and we have our own podcast, “The Fire Break.” A recent segment on the TODAY Show greatly increased our visibility and credibility and led to requests for product demonstrations from fire departments in California.
What makes PR effective?
PR is a cost-effective and credibility-building strategy. When a company promotes itself, it can be seen as self-serving, but when the media covers a company, it carries more credibility. People view media coverage as a more independent, neutral source, making it more impactful.
What unique services or approaches does Team Wildfire offer that set it apart from competitors?
Team Wildfire stands out in the market primarily due to our proprietary use of jet engines for wildfire management. When a fire threatens a neighborhood, we can deploy our Hurricanes on Wheels to create a protective barrier of retardant. Computationally, we can apply around 1500 hundred acres (600 hectares) of retardant in an hour, forming a barrier about 200 meters deep. This can protect communities and critical infrastructure, including power grids and military bases.
Our business model is service-based, building and operating our equipment. Clients can contract for us to be available exclusively to themselves all the time, or take their chances on a call-when-needed basis. But that’s like ordering life jackets after your boat starts sinking.
I divide the world into places that are currently on fire, and places that will be on fire in the future, and our service addresses them both.
What future goals or projects is Team Wildfire most excited about?
I’m very excited about completing and demonstrating our full-scale prototype, scheduled for completion in October. Then we’ll start demonstrating it to fire agencies. It’s one thing to show them a tool that might impress them… but it’s a whole other ballgame when you have a tool that could actually blow them away.
Find out more at: www.TeamWildfire.com
Luka, a skilled individual from Serbia, set aside his aspirations of becoming a Web Designer but discovered a fresh passion for content writing. With a keen interest in IT-related domains, encompassing Web Design and UI-UX Design, Luka is now delighted to express his thoughts on his favorite subjects. His proficiency in these areas positions him as an excellent source for those seeking valuable insights into the realm of technology.
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