Aspen partnership brings AI-powered wildfire suppression aircraft to WUI operations

by Aerial FirefightingFeatured NewsFire SuppressionProjectsWildland Fire

Coordinated autonomous system ordered for Colorado wildfire response

Aspen Fire Protection District is set to receive a coordinated autonomous wildfire suppression system from Seneca in summer 2026.

Seneca announced the five-year, multi-million dollar partnership in a PRNewswire release.

The Seneca Strike Team will comprise five autonomous suppression aircraft, a mobile operations base and five years of software, connectivity and maintenance.

Each strike team has a capacity of approximately 500 gallons of finished foam per sortie.

A single pilot can operate multiple aircraft due to the system’s artificial intelligence and autonomy capabilities.

The system is intended to support operations in the wildland – urban interface (WUI).

Funding, intended uses and training timeline

According to the PRNewswire release, the aircraft system acquisition was supported through public private partnerships involving Aspen Fire Protection District (AFPD), the Aspen Fire Foundation and local donors.

Over the coming years, Seneca and AFPD aim to deploy additional autonomous aerial response bases.

Those bases are designed to respond within seconds of detection to reach new starts earlier.

The system is intended to help with starts in inaccessible areas, support night operations, maintain the safety of pile and prescribed burns and carry equipment on incidents in complex terrain.

Stuart Landesberg, Founder and CEO of Seneca, said: “Aspen has a unique blend of high-risk terrain, exceptional collaboration across their valley, and a highly skilled and forward-thinking team.

“They understand the importance of modernizing wildfire response to safeguard communities across the American West.”

Chief Jake Andersen, Fire Chief and CEO of Aspen Fire, said: “We are partnering with Seneca because this technology will help us save homes and save lives.

“Wildfires in our region are moving faster and growing more complex every year.

“Stu and the full Seneca team have listened to firefighters and built a system designed for the realities we face on the ground.

“This gives us another critical tool to protect our community before small starts become major incidents.

“We are grateful to the donors who partnered with Aspen Fire to make this possible, and we are proud to bring this capability to Aspen this summer.”

Aspen Fire expects training to begin in the early summer, with firefighters integrating Seneca into their core operations as fire season intensifies.

FIREMIKS expands FM-approved range for Intersec 2026 appearance

by EventsFeatured NewsFire Suppression

Firemiks to present approved systems in Dubai

Firemiks will present its expanded FM-approved product line at Intersec 2026 in Dubai, where visitors will be able to review water-driven volumetric pump proportioners across seven flow sizes.

According to FIREMIKS AB, the range includes products approved under FM 5130 (May 2021) and recognised as Variable Viscosity Pump Proportioners.

The portfolio includes 18 FM-approved models, with flow sizes ranging from 450 to 8000.

Visitors will be able to learn more about the systems and their applications at the Swedish Pavilion in Hall 8, stand C30, and at the Solas Safety & Fire stand in Hall 4, B38.

Product range covers viscosity and installation requirements

Firemiks stated that the systems are designed to provide accurate proportioning across a wide viscosity range.

The proportioners can handle foam concentrates from 1 cP to 7288 cP, including non-Newtonian fluorine-free SFFF concentrates.

The range is available with different water motor configurations, including hard-anodised aluminium units with PTFE coating and nickel-aluminium bronze models for marine and offshore environments.

Stainless steel pump head options are also available.

Configurations support varied flow demands

Firemiks said water motor connections range from 2-inch DN50 to 8-inch DN200 depending on the model.

For installations requiring larger flows, systems can be installed in parallel configurations to achieve capacities up to 12,000 or 16,000 litres per minute.

The Intersec presentation will give visitors a chance to review the scope of the range and the applications described by the company.

FIREMIKS system installed at Lamor recycling plant in Finland

by Featured NewsFire SuppressionProjects

FIREMIKS installation at Finnish recycling plant

A Firemiks firefighting system has been installed at the Lamor Oy chemical and plastic recycling plant in Kilpilahti, Porvoo, Finland.

Firemiks AB announced that the site has been equipped with a FIREMIKS 6000-3-PP-F-ALU-DRV water-driven volumetric pump proportioner to support fire protection operations.

The facility is described as the first plant of its kind in Finland.

The system has been installed within a dedicated container at the site.

It provides a maximum flow capacity of 6,000 litres per minute and delivers a precise three percent dosing of fluorine-free foam concentrate.

Testing setup and project delivery

According to Firemiks AB, the installation also includes a Dosing Return Valve (DRV) and a complete Dosing Rate Test System with two independent flow meters.

This arrangement allows operators to carry out regular system testing without consuming foam concentrate.

It also removes the need to clean up dispersed foam after tests.

Firemiks said the configuration supports straightforward system verification and reduces operating costs and environmental impact over the lifetime of the installation.

The project was delivered in collaboration with Oy Veljekset Kulmala Ab, FIREMIKS’s sole distributor in Finland.