Fighting wildfires is a lot like fighting a war. There are also smokejumpers like infantry and paratroopers, air support from tanker planes, and mobile centers that can direct the movement of firefighters on the scene.
“This is a battlefield,” FireDome co-founder and CEO Gadi Benjamini told TechCrunch. “It's changing, dynamic and unexpected.”
But what firefighters lack is artillery support. That's what FireDome hopes to provide this upcoming fire season.
The company's technology is similar to Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, which identifies, tracks and destroys incoming rockets. The source of inspiration is not surprising. Benjamini spent more than a decade working in intelligence for the Israel Defense Forces, most recently in the reservists where he worked to free hostages held by Hamas.
The FireDome system works much the same way as the Iron Dome. There is a tracking system, in this case a camera coupled with a computer that monitors embers and small fires. And then there's the launcher, which throws a projectile filled with flame retardant, which opens and disperses its contents before impact.
The goal is to protect vulnerable assets from wildfires before they occur. The system can create a barrier by firing a series of flame retardant-filled capsules around a medium-sized piece of land, the size of a neighborhood, resort, or vineyard. It can also fire 12-gallon capsules into hot spots to try to extinguish small fires before they grow into larger ones.
The company's first version will be able to launch capsules up to a quarter of a mile away. Depending on the terrain, one launcher can cover 50 to 100 acres. Future versions will be able to cover a one-mile radius or hundreds of acres, Benjamini said. The capsules are biodegradable, and Benjamini envisions a sensor embedded within them that could be reused and retrieved by cleaning crews.
California vineyards are likely to be the first customers. Although they produce high-value crops, they are often a lower priority for Cal Fire than homes and neighborhoods. “I was in California and visited some vineyards in Napa and Sonoma and we were told there was a major fire, but no one was there to protect us,” Benjamini said. I talked about the trip I took two weeks ago. “Firefighters are out there risking their lives, so that's to be expected. That's the number one priority.”
Insurance companies are also taking notice of FireDome. “We don't want to end up in a situation where we're using insurance,” he says. “We have to find solutions that help lower premiums for our communities.”
Benjamini and co-founder Adi Naor Pomerantz founded FireDome earlier this year and had been operating it in stealth until now. The company exclusively told TechCrunch that it has raised $3 million in a pre-seed round led by Third Sphere and Gravity Climate, with participation from Atooro Fund, Caesar Fund, and Vertex Ventures. Benjamini said the first FireDome launcher should be operational late in the 2025-2026 fire season.