Red was the only color visible in the sky when 15-year-old Arul Mathur decided to take action. Living in the Bay Area during the horrific wildfires of 2019 and 2020, Arul witnessed the firsthand, devastating effects of wildfires on people’s lives as they destroyed people’s homes and forced them to abandon everything they held dear.

As he witnessed a gray blanket of ash fall into his backyard, Mathur set out to develop his invention F.A.C.E.- Fire Activated Canister Extinguisher.

F.A.C.E. is a self-activating fire suppression device designed to put out fires automatically when it detects extreme heat. When it’s exposed to fire, the glycerin-bulb sprinkler head attached to F.A.C.E. activates, dispersing fire retardant over a 4-5 foot radius with 360-degree coverage.

Unlike a traditional fire sprinkler, F.A.C.E. requires no connection to a water supply, and unlike a traditional fire extinguisher, requires no manual intervention.

If F.A.C.E. is placed every 10-12 feet around a property, it can create a fire suppressing wall which can help stop fires from advancing through.

In many instances, wildfires grow hot enough and radiate enough heat to spontaneously combust structures, particularly wood. In these cases, F.A.C.E. devices can work to increase the resistance of your property to spontaneous combustion by increasing the resistance of the material to temperature changes. By having a temperature trigger of 155 F, F.A.C.E. devices can activate well before materials like wood reach their flash point, covering them with fire retardant and increasing their resistance to combustion.

When used in isolation and placed in fire-prone areas around the home, such as near a boiler or stove, F.A.C.E. devices can help snuff out fires as soon as they appear, preventing them from growing and burning down your property.

After 2 years of rigorous development by Mathur, F.A.C.E. is ready to protect individuals this fire season.

He states, “No longer do families need to remain completely dependent on firefighters to come to their rescue and watch their homes burn down before their eyes; now, they can fight back.”

F.A.C.E. has been made available to the public via Kickstarter, an online crowdfunding platform, where it raised over $10,000, double its original $5,000 goal, in just 1 week.

To protect your property, you can pre-order F.A.C.E. on Kickstarter here: kck.st/3All9uK

Orders are expected to be delivered this September; perfect time for the extreme fire season.

All profits from the campaign will go towards the donation of F.A.C.E. canisters to fire-prone communities.

For more information, check out his website at www.facefires.com