Firefighters spend most of their time training to put out fires, but a brand of flares growing in popularity is helping them fight fire with fire.
Firequick Products features a lineup of flares and flare-related products that are often the best option for firefighters to start a fire in a wildland setting.
The products were introduced after the company noticed wildland firefighters needed better tools at their disposal.
“We have lots of ways to put fires out, but we need better ways to start fires,” said Beth Summers, President of Firequick.
Seeing the limitations of products like drip torches, ignition fuels and conventional hand flares used by firefighters to start fires, Firequick set out to create a product that could prove safer and more effective in certain wildland conditions.
“The flares help firefighters start fires from a safer distance away from themselves,” Summers said.
“For example at a ravine, a firefighter can shoot the flare into the ravine without having to go down into it.”
Other ignition tools — usually not designed specifically for wildland fires or firefighting at all — are not as “high-performance,” are more expensive and simply not as effective, according to Summers.
Firequick flares are also rugged enough to burn wet fuel and work in windy settings.
So far, the flares have proven popular among wildland firefighters.
“Almost all of the hotshot crews use it,” Summers said.
The U.S. Forest Service has also been a big buyer of Firequick products, according to Summers.
Firequick’s latest tool is the recently released Dual Launcher III, which launches two types of flares and features improvements like a six-round, 22-caliber swing-out cylinder with a built-in casing ejector.
In addition, the launcher features a larger trigger guard to more easily accommodate gloved hands and a safety-orange grip for “non-firearm” designation.
Firequick Products is headquartered in California’s Mojave Desert and home of Firequick Flare Systems, a line of launchers and flares designed for wildland fire management. For more information about Firequick, visit the company’s official website.