Partnering with the Best: Aspen Fire Acquires a Seneca Strike Team
Our five-year, multi-million dollar contract reflects shared trust, respect and vision for a safer future for firefighters, wild spaces, and communities.
Colorado has a long history of fire. I write this note from the “South Canyon” conference room, named for the fire on Storm King Mountain that killed 14 firefighters in 1994. This winter, Colorado has seen record low snow fall and red flag warnings even in December through February. Thankfully, Colorado also has some of the country’s most forward-thinking fire departments.
Today, we are proud to announce our partnership with Aspen Fire that will bring a five-aircraft Seneca Strike Team to Aspen, CO. This marks the first time in history a U.S. fire department has acquired an AI-driven autonomous aerial suppression system. Aspen Fire Protection District will begin deploying the aircraft, designed to cut wildfire response times, assist in Rx burns, speed mop up operations and force-multiply many core capabilities this summer. Each aircraft carries enough water to create over 50 gallons of finished foam suppressant which it delivers at over 100 PSI, and is built to operate in the difficult terrain that defines the Roaring Fork Valley.
“We are partnering with Seneca because this technology will help us save homes and save lives,” said Chief Jake Andersen, Fire Chief and CEO of Aspen Fire. “Wildfires in our region are moving faster and growing more complex every year. Stu and the full Seneca team have listened to firefighters and built a system designed for the realities we face on the ground. This gives us another critical tool to protect our community before small starts become major incidents.”
Working with exceptional partners is essential in building high impact products. We are grateful to work with Chief Andersen and the strong team at Aspen Fire. Founded in 1881, Aspen Fire has consistently been at the forefront of technology adoption, including detection systems and UAS. For over a year, Aspen has been an integral partner in our development, helping us improve the product and app usability, and adding features to improve firefighting in lightning starts, in timber fuel models, during night operations from the Mobile Air Operations Base and more. The system can help with starts in inaccessible areas, support night operations, maintain the safety of pile burns / fuel reduction and prescribed burns, carry equipment on incidents in complex terrain and more. In Colorado’s highly rugged environment, the aerial capabilities can also be a game changer in initial attack - as early as 5-10 minutes from detection - on fires in the precious wildland and wildland urban interface adjacent to the town of Aspen.
Dating back to the Skunk Works, the aircraft of WWII and the SR-71, the U.S. has a long history of leading the world in aviation through exceptional public, private partnerships. We take inspiration from that legacy of finding exceptional partners to co-develop, test and deploy next generation technologies. This partnership will break new ground for the industry across many vectors, and enable many years of enhanced safety for the Aspen community.
And it is just the beginning.