Canadian company Altek Advanced Materials’ new Wildfire Guardian gel spray gives 90% fire protection for homes

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As more than 16,000 structures burned in the Palisades and Eaton fires, an advanced materials company in Canada watched in horror as towns were almost wiped out. The company Altek Advanced Materials says the Southern California wildfires were a call to action.

“We had been developing a fire-retardant product for prefabricated materials before they went into building and it became apparent to us there was a need because of the devastation and destruction for products that were put on aftermarket to existing structures,” said Gregory Fenton, the CEO of Altek Advanced Materials.

Introducing Wildfire Guardian, a gel that’s sprayed onto structures in high fire zones as much as 24 hours before there’s a fire. The fire retardant provides 90% protection, is biodegradable, eco-friendly and comes right off with water.

At the demonstration ABC7 was invited to in Agua Dulce, two houses were constructed. One had Wildfire Guardian on it, while the other one didn’t. They lit both houses on fire to see how they would do.

The house without Wildfire Guardian was fully engulfed with visible damage seen after the fire was put out. The house with Wildfire Guardian kept the fire to one section with no damage inside and very minimal signs of damage outside.

“Once it’s put onto a structure, and it’s activated by heat and flame, it actually creates a barrier. It starts to expand,” explained Fenton.

“Water in hot conditions and low-humidity conditions evaporates very quickly within 15 – 20 minutes. So it provides protection when it’s wet, but then it dries out very quickly. This doesn’t,” said Colin Van Der Kuur who works for Altek.

The company will launch in the U.S. early next year and will start supplying their product to private firefighters. Then, a home kit will be offered for residents to apply the product themselves. If those residents can’t get fire insurance, there’s a plan for that too.

“We’re working with insurance partners to bring insurance coverage back to the California market for those who have had cover removed and for those who have had their premium go up substantially,” said Fenton.

“Anytime you don’t have to dedicate resources to a structure, it frees them up for more critical tasks such as saving lives, and this allows for a smaller crew to handle multiple houses at the same time, where you’re monitoring instead of actually having to physically fire fight,” said Andrew Sarvis, the founder of West Coast Water Tenders, a private firefighting company.

Dropping the retardant from the air onto vegetation is being explored. Two former military pilots who flew firefighting missions were on hand for the demo.

“It’s monumental actually to me. To see what this is capable of in a situation like the Palisades and Eaton fires, it would have been a game changer. It would have saved a lot of property and lives,” said Paul Hargrove, a retired pilot who flew firefighting missions.

For more information, you can visit www.thewildfireguardian.com.

MORE: Pacific Palisades home with fire resilient features survives fire