This is what appears to be a comparatively novel DIY fire defence system designed for, and implemented at our house in Fairhaven, Victoria, Australia. Novel elements include the use of stand-off impulse sprinklers to spray across surfaces with water, and a multi-option remote control system operated through a phone/ipad/computer dashboard, supported by multiple redundancy in the event of component failure. That is backed by an autonomous sensor-guided control system which takes over if communication is lost, and compensates if sensors themselves are lost.
It has proved to be an 18 month task (part-time) to design, procure parts, test concepts, and construct the system. This (including all plumbing and electronics) has mostly been done with my own labour. Whilst undoubtedly idiosyncratic it might be some use in sparking new ideas and if any of the approaches were to be attempted again a great deal of research, experimentation and programming might well be avoided. That is the reason for my making available this outline of the approaches implemented.
Clearly this should be treated as one of many possible DIY prototypes and it remains to be, and hopefully will not be, tested in the face of a fire. If any of the ideas were to be commercially adopted they would need rigorous testing against labour and materials costs, effectiveness in multiple conditions, and potential user experience.
Inevitably the final setup has evolved with many small improvements and adjustments since the original plan was conceived. During implementation of the design many additional decisions had to be made, tests of assumptions checked, and new insights incorporated. The outcome is described here in two forms. First there is a user guide, and then Technical Notes giving much more of the detail.
Jim Falk, January 2026
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