Use Pool Water to Protect Your Home from Fire: Introducing FireFighter1

By the Pool Patrol Team, based on a conversation with Bianca Wittenberg, founder and CEO of FireFighter1

After watching the recent Summerland Bradley Creek Wildfire devastate his community, Pool Patrol’s founder and CEO Allan Horwood took it upon himself to figure out what he could do for this community. "We protect your family from accidental drowning," says Allan Horwood, Pool Patrol's owner, "and now we need to look at protecting them from fire too." Allan saw the FireFighter1 system at a trade show recently, so he reached out and decided to carry a limited stock of the systems right here in Kelowna.

A fire hose system that connects to your pool pump can turn the water in your backyard into an effective, easy-to-use tool for defending your home during a wildfire. That's what FireFighter1 was made for, and it's why Pool Patrol is offering it, at cost, to any homeowner in the Okanagan!

“Pool Patrol is supporting the community by selling these at our cost, which means no profit to us, in order to help support fire prevention efforts. We're trying to prevent more house fires!” — Allan Horwood, Pool Patrol Founder

The Pool Patrol Team caught up with Bianca Wittenberg, the founder and CEO of FireFighter1, to ask a few questions about this new product.

What is FireFighter1, and How does it Help Protect Homes from wildfires?

"The FireFighter1 Hose System is a fire defense system that connects directly to a property owner's pool pump to quickly and effectively extract a high volume of water, through a professional-grade 1½ inch fire hose, to help protect property from fire," Bianca says. "With the right pool and pump setup, homeowners spray about 40 feet at 100+ gallons per minute." She's clear about what it isn't, too: "FireFighter1 is not a replacement for firefighters, evacuation orders, or professional fire suppression. It is an additional tool that can give homeowners access to their own water when they may need it most."

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Why did Bianca Build FireFighter1?

It started with her dad, watching wildfire coverage in Southern California. "He kept seeing the same thing: homes with swimming pools full of thousands of gallons of water, while firefighters were fighting incredibly difficult conditions with limited access to water. At one point, he looked at our pool and thought, 'Why waste the pool water?'" She brought his idea to market in 2021, four years after he passed away. "FireFighter1 is much more than a product to us; it is our dad's invention, his legacy of being practical and using the resources you have available to you."

Has it been Put to the Test?

Yes, twice so far. In one case, a barbecue fire at a neighbour's property in Chatsworth, California, spread across open space toward a home with FireFighter1 installed. "The neighbour with FireFighter1 installed to their pool was able to stop the fire from continuing to spread."

The other hit closer to home, literally. "Our family pig's hay caught fire; her name is Penelope. Our daughter saw the flames out her window, alerted us, and we were able to extinguish the fire before it got close to the house." Can a regular homeowner use it? Most setups install in 15 to 30 minutes. Using it, Bianca says, is just as simple: "connect the hose, put the pool pump into the appropriate operating position, turn the pump on at maximum speed, open the nozzle, and aim the water where it is needed."

One condition matters most: "FireFighter1 should only be used when it is safe to do so and never instead of evacuating when authorities tell you to leave."

Why the Okanagan?

"Pool professionals are such an important part of getting this technology into the hands of the people who can benefit from it," Bianca says. "Pool Patrol understands the local pool community and the unique wildfire risks facing homeowners in the Okanagan."

The offer: 

Pool Patrol is selling the 50-foot system at cost: $595 CAD plus tax. No markup. No profit to Pool Patrol. It's open to any Okanagan homeowner with a pool, not just Pool Patrol customers, while quantities last.

Bianca leaves us with this: "If you have a pool, you already have a valuable emergency water resource sitting in your backyard. Be prepared to use it before you need it."

Want a FireFighter1 system at cost while stock lasts? Contact Pool Patrol to get one before the chaos of next year’s fire season.

Pool Patrol has installed automatic pool safety covers for BC families for over 20 years, across the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. Now a FireFighter1 partner, offering the same fire hose system (at no profit to Pool Patrol) to any Okanagan resident.