1
Capture
Fire-resistant mesh netting is positioned between ember sources and vulnerable targets, creating a physical interception screen.
Patented wildfire ember interception technology
Catch the embers before they become the fire.
Firenetting introduces FRED, the First Responder Ember Drone: a patented UAV-controlled fire-resistant netting system designed to intercept windborne embers before they ignite the next structure, hillside, freeway edge, utility corridor, or fire line.
US 12,539,435 B2
Issued patent
Feb. 3, 2026
Date of patent
UAV + Net
Airborne ember barrier
FRED
First Responder Ember Drone
The wildfire gap
The visible flame front is not the only threat.
Windborne embers can jump roads, leap firebreaks, cross canyons, and land on vulnerable roofs, vents, dry vegetation, decks, palm crowns, utility corridors, and neighborhoods far ahead of the main fire.
- Embers move with wind, not with the neat boundary of the flame front.
- A single ember can become a new ignition point.
- Traditional suppression often arrives after the ember has already landed.
- Firenetting focuses on interception: stop the ember in the air.
FRED technology
Drone-controlled netting for ember interception.
The system combines battery-powered UAVs, fire-resistant mesh netting, sensors, positioning logic, and optional water or fire-retardant spray to create a mobile airborne ember barrier.
2
Control
UAVs maneuver the net, hold it aloft, adjust deployment geometry, and can operate with tethered ground support where appropriate.
3
Contain
The net can be used near roads, firebreaks, properties, palm trees, corridors, and high-risk infrastructure to slow ember-driven spread.
Patent foundation
United States Patent US 12,539,435 B2
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) CONTROLLED NETTING SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF
Invented by Bradley Lawrence Bartz, the patented system describes mesh netting arranged in interspersed fire-resistant layers and controlled by battery-powered UAVs to maintain the mesh aloft and position it to capture embers based on wind conditions and ember sources.
The patent drawings show multiple deployment modes: single-UAV parachute netting, four-UAV rectangular barriers, fire-truck-supported tethered operations, and road/firebreak protection concepts.
From patent to prototype
The white paper package is built for grants, investors, and partners.
Firenetting is currently a patented concept seeking prototype funding, engineering validation, controlled testing, and field demonstration partners. The brief and full white paper explain the path from issued patent to measured evidence.
1
Grant / Investor Brief
A compact version for first meetings, grant reviewers, strategic investors, drone-platform partners, and agency introductions.
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Full White Paper
A serious technical and funding document covering the problem, invention, patent, testing plan, safety limits, budget, timeline, and partner pathway.
3
Patent PDF
The issued United States patent certificate and specification for the UAV-controlled netting system and method.
Next step
Prototype. Test. Measure.
Firenetting is a patented wildfire defense concept now ready for engineering review, simulation, prototype development, controlled burn testing, and public-safety evaluation.
- Net porosity: what mesh size captures dangerous embers while allowing wind to pass?
- Wind loading: what geometry remains stable in realistic ember-storm conditions?
- UAV lift capacity: what drone platform can safely carry and maneuver the net?
- Tethered power: when should ground power replace onboard battery power?
- Suppression delivery: how should water or fire retardant be applied to captured embers?
- Operational safety: how should fire agencies deploy, command, and retrieve the system?
Deployment concepts
Built for the places where embers defeat ordinary boundaries.
Firenetting is not one rigid product shape. It is a patented operating concept: netting, UAV control, ember interception, suppression support, and adaptable deployment geometry.
Property perimeter defense
Position airborne mesh between ember sources and vulnerable structures, especially hillside homes, dry vegetation zones, exposed decks, vents, and roofs.
Freeways, corridors, and firebreaks
Use roadways and cleared corridors as natural fire lines while airborne netting helps prevent embers from jumping the gap.
Fire truck support
Ground vehicles may support tethered power, water, fire-retardant delivery, anchors, command systems, and rapid field deployment.
Suppression at the net
Captured embers can be targeted with water or fire-retardant spray before they continue traveling or fall into receptive fuel.
Firenetting games
Train the instinct before the fire arrives.
The Firenetting games help explain the core idea behind FRED: embers move fast, wind changes everything, and interception timing matters.
- Understand ember movement as an active threat.
- See why wind direction changes the defense strategy.
- Turn a serious wildfire concept into a simple interactive lesson.
Inventor
Bradley Bartz
Bradley Bartz is the inventor of the patented UAV-controlled fire netting system behind FRED, the First Responder Ember Drone.
Bartz is also the founder of ABC Solar Incorporated, bringing decades of practical solar, battery, backup power, and field energy experience into wildfire resilience and emergency technology.
Firenetting is built around one hard lesson: when the wind carries embers, defense has to move into the air.
Firenetting is seeking serious conversations with fire agencies, emergency management leaders, insurers, utilities, drone manufacturers, wildfire researchers, and strategic partners.
Who should look at this
This is a public-safety technology conversation.
Firenetting is for people responsible for reducing wildfire loss before the next ember storm becomes the next disaster.
A
Fire agencies
Request a technical briefing on airborne ember interception for fire lines, palm-tree hazards, roadways, and pre-positioned defense.
B
Utilities and infrastructure
Study corridor, substation, transmission path, roadway, and critical-access protection use cases.
C
Insurers and communities
Evaluate whether ember interception can become part of neighborhood-scale wildfire risk reduction.
D
Drone manufacturers
Discuss prototype lift platforms, tethered power, ruggedized controls, sensor integration, and net handling.
E
Wildfire researchers
Model ember flow, mesh geometry, porosity, wind load, capture rate, and suppression at the barrier.
F
Strategic partners
Help move the patented concept from invention to prototype, testing, field trials, manufacturing, and deployment.
Contact
The next wildfire defense layer may be airborne.
Firenetting is ready for serious technical, agency, investor, manufacturer, drone-platform, research, and public-safety conversations.