The flames rise a couple feet into the air. Bright orange and intensely hot, the fire dances sideways, its translucent tendrils seeming to curl around the bodiless wind as it comes through the backyard. Folds and creases move through this shifting sculpture of heat, like stone fabric on a roman statue. Lengths of flame disconnect and float for a split second, completely independent from its larger, ever changing body before vanishing and traveling on with the relentless breeze.
Cozy campfire?
Nope. The fire’s home is in an empty metal ammo can.
Tacticool Fire Pits. PORTABLE. COMPACT. HOT AS HELL.
Its architects are Devin and Avery Morgan of Imperial Beach – who have launched TactiCool Fire Pits as a side gig. The “hot as hell” fire pits, according to the company’s slogan, go for around $100 for the smallest size, and $180 for the biggest. They can be found on their website and through their social media.
Devin has been in the Navy for the last 17 years. He is with the Naval Special Warfare doing operational planning as a chief petty officer. Avery, his wife, now works full time with their business, previously coming from a sales and marketing background.
While Devin has made a career in the Navy, he decided to start a side business with his wife and they are not alone.
About half of all active service members and their spouses have turned to the gig economy for additional income, according to a 2019 Harris Poll prepared for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and Wells Fargo.
Still a startup
It’s a late morning in January. He sips his coffee and Avery glances at him from his side while talking with The Coronado News. They’re relaxed, both sitting back in their chairs, talking in low, steady tones.
“[The fire pits] became a joint thing…” Avery says quietly, giving him a playful grin.
Devin looks down. “It was kind of forced upon her,” he laughs and picks his head back up to catch her eye.
“No!” she laughs back.
Avery chuckles as she describes how Devin had originally started their fire pit business in January of 2022, but then he left for six months on deployment a few months later in April – leaving her with a popular, budding business.
“I will always support everything he does, let’s not get that twisted,” a big smile sits on her lips as she talks about their business.
Devin had always loved tinkering with his hands, and these days he finds that his job in the Navy is very computer and desk-based.
“I really do enjoy the [Navy], and I’ve been very fortunate with it; but there’s definitely a piece of me that wants to do something more hands-on,” he says.
Now in their home, less than a couple miles to the beach, Devin walks to a white door on the left to their work station.
It’s a small, single car garage with a long wooden table flush against the wall, ammo cans and tools sitting neatly on top. Boxes and bins and containers surround the work table. A large red sign about 7 or 8-feet tall adjacent to their work space brandishes their business. The slogan is not hard to miss.
“It’s rewarding to do something with your hands and create something,” Devin says.
Talks of the future of the business lands somewhere in the realm of informing the community about the significance of fire safety. With the innovation of their fire pits comes a desire to let the public know about the value of controlled fires.
“What would be really great to see…[is] pairing up with CAL FIRE and being able to be a part of some of these fire stations a little more,” Avery says.
According to CALFIRE’s 2022 incident archive, California had 7,667 wildfires damaging or destroying over 900 homes and other structures. With burn bans throughout the state and most recently in San Diego as well, controlled fires are now the new norm, for those on the beach and for those who off-road and camp – who also happen to be their biggest clientele.
Back in their living room, their dog Charlie receives pets from Devin and Avery. They’re both wearing their Tacticool caps, the lids low over their eyes. They meander around the couch and into the kitchen as they walk out to the backyard to turn on one of the fire pits.
