Kestrel Weather and Environmental Meters, a division of Nielsen-Kellerman®, has launched the Kestrel Fire Weather Meters line, including the Kestrel 3500FW, 5400FW, 5500FW and DROP® D3FW Fire Weather Monitor. All are designed to provide fast and accurate measurement of the critical weather conditions impacting the behavior of wildland fires. Kestrel Fire Weather Meters empower firefighters with the real-time and trend data to make critical decisions in their mission to protect lives, houses, and property while ensuring safety for everyone involved.
“Wildland fires are growing larger, more frequent, and more dangerous and destructive every year. Wildland firefighters risk their lives to battle these fires, and they need every advantage they can get. Fire behavior prediction is a key component of the fight, and we have created the Kestrel Fire Weather Meter line to provide the critical weather measurements needed,” said Alix James, CEO of Nielsen-Kellerman. “Kestrel has been helping firefighters to ‘know their conditions’ for over two decades, and we have added many innovative features to this line to help them do their job as effectively and safely as possible.”
The rugged, reliable, waterproof and lightweight line includes four weather instruments that meet different firefighting needs. Kestrel Fire Weather Meters can be purchased on KestrelFireWeather.com and through Kestrel’s e-commerce partners and resellers.
• The Kestrel DROP D3FW Fire Weather Monitor, with LiNK™ wireless data connectivity, is ideal for data logging temperature and humidity on a prescribed burn site to view trends and plan the safest burn times. DROP measurements can be viewed real-time and data logs can be retrieved from 100’ away with an iOS or Android device and the free kestrel LiNK app. The DROP D3FW is available for $129.
• The Kestrel 3500FW Fire Weather Meter offers fast, accurate measurement of weather conditions such as wind speed, temperature, humidity, pressure and altitude, as well as a quick reference waterproof PIG card. The Kestrel 3500FW Fire Weather Meter sells for $199.
• The Kestrel 5500FW Fire Weather Meter Pro includes all necessary measurements for a weather observation including a compass for wind direction and preloaded PIG and FDFM tables. It may be used as a handheld unit or mounted to a tripod with the secure vane mount, creating a fully capable compact weather station. The 5500FW logs key measurements even when off, providing in-depth insight into trends. With optional LiNK wireless connectivity, measurements can be viewed remotely and data logs can be downloaded and shared with the free Kestrel LiNK app (approximately 100’ range). Pricing for the 5500FW Fire Weather Pro starts at $355 to $422 with LiNK.
• The Kestrel 5400FW Fire Weather Pro WBGT with LiNK, Compass and Vane Mount is the all-in-one fire weather and heat safety meter. This unit sells for $609 and includes all the capabilities of the 5500FW with the addition of WBGT monitoring. WBGT is the most accurate model for predicting human heat stress and adds critical insight into preventing heat injury during conditioning training and while working on a fire line.
All Kestrel Fire Weather Meters provide wind speed, relative humidity, temperature, psychrometric wet bulb temperature, altitude, pressure trends, barometric pressure, dew point temperatures, heat stress index and wind chill environmental measurements. The enhanced Pro Series has a digital compass for wind direction, preloaded tables for Probability of Ignition (PIG) and Fine Dead Fuel Moisture (FDFM) as well as on-screen graphing history. Pro series with optional LiNK wireless connectivity sends current and logged weather and heat data to mobile devices keeping crews informed, prepared and most of all, safe.
“As a United States Aerial Delivered Firefighter, I require the best gear available to accomplish our missions. The Kestrel Fire Weather Pro weather meter provides me with the highest technology made to date. I count on precise measurements on a fire or any other emergency incident. Kestrel is my choice for professionals,” explains Jason A. Ramos, a veteran firefighter and author of the memoir, Smokejumper.
For more information, go to www.nkhome.com/kestrel/
