GRID2020, Inc. has announced that its GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY^® wildfire sensor capabilities were once again successfully demonstrated during a field test on 6 September at a training facility operated by Ventura County Fire Department near Camarillo, CA.

The field demonstration involved igniting a series of individual brush fires; ranging in size from small to medium. By lighting individual fires, then extinguishing each, the attendees were able to witness the versatile capabilities of the GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY outdoor wildfire sensor solution.

Alan Snook, company spokesperson explained the test process: “We staged multiple brush piles encompassing nearly 1/3 acre, then individually ignited them so our attendees could visualize the incoming fire conditions data being reported by the GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY device.

“We also included our valuable Auto Alerts feature to direct incoming wildfire data to certain attendee’s cell phones. The Auto Alerts began streaming via text messages, indicating to attendees that GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY not only was successfully detecting the wildfire conditions, but also was providing Early Detection and swift notification capability.”

Conditions for the demonstration included a clear sunny day, near record-level heat and humidity, and an intermittent prevailing wind of 5-10mph. The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY device was able to capture and reporting key data for the attendees to view in real time regardless of fires being ignited upwind or downwind.

The device successfully detected ground-level fire surface temperature escalations, outdoor smoke from multiple nearby and upwind points of origin, and fire-induced humidity level decreases; conditions which are indicative of developing or unfolding wildfire events.

Fire Chief Dustin Gardner, Ventura County (CA) Fire Department, commented: “The successful GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY demonstration spurred several discussions about the importance and impact of technology solutions in early wildland fire detection and warning.”

Deputy Fire Chief Chad Cook, Ventura County (CA) Fire Department commented: “We are concerned about wildland fires year-round in our community, and have a very progressive mindset in leveraging technology tools, such as GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY, for the fire service to help mitigate these types of fires.”

Snook added: “We hope to see a grassroots percolation of interest and request for deployment of GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY in at-risk areas.

“We believe that as the public at-large, and vested stakeholders begin to realize that we can provide an always-on outdoor monitoring solution to create an added level of wildfire defense protections, then GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY will be vastly adopted.”