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Wildfire Safety Systems has invented a fireproof shed/wildfire shelter, the ‘FORT’, that you can stay safe in if you get trapped by wildfire at your home. It’s also a place you can stash all of your heirlooms and treasures if you have to evacuate and don’t have time to pack them all up.
WSS invited me out for a demo of their new FORT (Fire-resistant Onsite Refuge Technology) wildfire shelter last week. I flew out to Nashville, and then drove to the middle of nowhere Southern Illinois to the tiny town of Ridgway, where WSS has a factory that makes foam-cored concrete panels that are at the heart of the FORT design. WSS is part of Strata Worldwide – a global industrial safety company with a long history in mine engineering. The FORT has compressed breathing air sufficient for 8 people for 4 hours.
The designers of the FORT, as well as some of the salespeople, got into the shelter and then they lit about 1,000 pallets on fire, in a ring around the structure. It took about 45 minutes for the fire to burn down to coals. Watch the video to hear how things turned out!