Wineries and vineyards represent years and even generations of hard work. To see a family and the people they employ faced with the devastation of fire is heartbreaking. 

With the right equipment, there’s a lot you can do to stop fire in its tracks before it gets out of hand.

‍Wineries have unique fire safety needs.

Wildfire can reach a vineyard the same way it reaches anywhere else: Directly, by using surrounding vegetation as fuel to help it travel, or indirectly, by sending dangerous embers wafting across the property, looking for something to ignite. Combined with the high winds wildfire can bring, vineyards and the buildings on them are especially vulnerable. While grapevines don’t burn easily, they do burn, taking vines out of commission until they can recover and penetrating the grapes of other vines with smoke, negatively affecting the taste of the wine they eventually produce—sometimes for years. And it’s not all about the wine. Many wineries have irreplaceable historic buildings on them; to lose those in a fire is to watch a legacy literally go up in flames.

‍Take it from Kendall Jackson

When fire does erupt in a vineyard, speed is of the essence. Safety-conscious people like those at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Garden, invest in QTAC skids—complete firefighting systems designed to sit easily on a truck bed or attach to a UTV’s rear rack for quick deployment to the site of a fire. In the three years Kendall Jackson has been working with QTAC on winery fire safety, the winery has invested in a variety of skids, ranging from 85 gallons of water capacity to 300 gallons. Their goal: be prepared for a variety of potential fire situations, including the kind of controlled burns any agricultural business does from time to time. Anywhere food is grown, there’s a reason to have premier firefighting equipment on hand. Proactive investment means having the right equipment ready when you need it to protect your property.

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‍What fire equipment should you get?

How do you as a vintner, grower, or vineyard manager go about deciding what equipment you need? Expect a thorough Q&A from our staff to best understand your operations. What is your overall goal in selecting fire mitigation equipment? Do you have a vegetation management plan in place? Where are the access points throughout the property? What sizes and types of vehicles does the winery have? How far away is the nearest water pipe from the vines? What’s the maximum distance you need a stream or water to reach? What are the specific fire risk warnings issued by your city or county? QTAC provides recommendations on what equipment you need in order to handle your potential winery fire hazards safely and effectively. When people need fast access to reliable firefighting equipment, designed, built, and curated by experts who fully understand the way fire behaves, QTAC is the team to put on the job.