FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Foam Fire Suppression Equipment Saves Popular Ranch from California Wildfires
Aug. 12, 2021 – Redding, CA. – A beloved scenic ranch in Northern California was protected from the Antelope Fire by ranch staff the week of August 2, 2021 thanks to compressed air foam (CAF) fire suppression equipment.
Antelope Creek Ranch in Siskiyou County is a popular angling resort owned by Mike Michalak that also hosts hundreds of children every summer to teach them fly-fishing basics and outdoor skills.
The Antelope Fire started on August 1, 2021 and as of this release was only 24% contained after 11 days. Antelope Creek Ranch staff had prepared for the threat of wildfires by creating defensible space and purchasing a large capacity Tri-Max CAF skid from Kingsway.
With Tri-Max CAF products, the user can spray fire extinguishing foam directly onto a fire to extinguish it or a susceptible area to protect. The foam soaks into the structure creating a barrier of protection.
As the fire approached the ranch, the Lodge Manager coated the most essential buildings with the Tri-Max 200 Super-Caf’s 4,000 gallons of foam’s capacity before evacuating through a tunnel of fire. The system is reloadable, so he loaded a second container to coat the buildings again with a total of nearly 8,000 gallons of foam.
An Anxious Wait
The Antelope Fire swept through the area which was then blocked from entry from the CHP, preventing an anxious Mike Michalak and his team from getting any updates. Given the intensity of the fire, Mike, his family and ranch staff anticipated the worst.
However, a few days later, CHP was able to report that all buildings protected by the Tri-Max CAFS foam had been spared.
“Our ranch home that was irreplaceable was saved,” said Mike Michalak.
An Industrial Strength Fire Suppression Solution
Kingsway offers a wide range of CAF foam products like the one used to protect Antelope Creek Ranch. In addition to the many fire protection agencies and industrial companies who use Tri-Max products, they can be used by a wide range of companies and private entities and individuals to protect against the increasingly prevalent wildfires.
A feature by KRCR Channel 7 on Tri-Max that provides further detail about how Tri-Max fire suppression technologies are superior to water at putting out and protecting against fires:
About Tri-Max Fire Suppression Technologies by Kingsway Industries
Founded by Dave Mahrt, Kingsway, the manufacturer of TRI-MAX™ Cold CAF, has sold over 10,000 fire suppression systems to the military, public agencies, industrial contractors and private companies world-wide.
As a Gun Ship helicopter pilot and Chief Warrant officer in Vietnam and a Forest Service contracted fire suppression pilot for over 20 years, Dave witnessed firsthand the inadequacy of today’s equipment and its inability to combat fires efficiently. Committed to making the trade a safer place, he created what is known today as the “TRI-MAX™ Cold CAF family” of fire suppression systems.
Antelope Creek Ranch website
This scenic ranch, surrounded by more than 65,000 acres of National Forest, is the jewel in the necklace of The Fly Shop’s Private Waters and welcomes a limited number of guests from mid-May through October.
https://www.theflyshop.com/adventures/antelope.html
Antelope Fire Information
Contact:
Dave Mahrt, Sr.
Owner, Kingsway Industries, Inc., maker of Tri-Max CAFS Suppression Products
(530) 941-8866
dmahrtsr@trimax.us
Photos provided by Antelope Creek Ranch owner, Mike Michalak