David McKeen got the idea for a portable "Wall of Water" device five years ago when watching video of the devastation caused by wildfires.

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David McKeen is demonstrating the Wall of Water using water from the Ottawa River . Article content

The purpose of his “wildfire protection device” is not to fight fires, but to prevent them. McKeen describes his invention as a “sprinkler system on steroids.” Article content Article content

If a home or a business is in the path of a wildfire, but has been thoroughly pre-soaked, it can be saved from flying embers, McKeen says. All it takes for the Wall of Water to do that job is enough fuel to power the engine and a water source less than a meter deep, he adds. A lake, a river, a pond, a swimming pool. Even salt water from an o

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