(NewsUSA) - Firefighting technology evolves constantly. New climate-control suits and vital-signs monitors help firefighters stay safe.
But what aids firefighters can also help homeowners, especially when new technologies reduce property damage caused by firefighting equipment.
In 2005, home fires caused $6.7 billion in damages. Most of that damage wasn’t caused by the fires, but by the high-pressure water hoses used to extinguish them. Water damage accounts for as much as 70 percent of damage to houses during a fire.
Fighting structure fires -; fires in closed spaces, like homes -; can be dangerous for firefighters. In a room or basement, fires can reach high temperatures quickly. Firefighters might find only one way into or out of a fire.
But firefighters now use new tools to reduce their risk. One company, ARA Safety, has developed the innovative Fire Interruption Technology-5 (FIT-5). The handheld FIT-5 works like an anti-fire hand grenade.
Firefighters pull a rip cord at the top of the 9 pound unit, then throw the FIT-5 into a burning structure. Within 10 seconds, the FIT-5 sprays a non-toxic aerosol powder in all directions.
Oxygen levels are not affected. Indoor temperatures can drop from1,000 to 300 degrees, giving firefighters a safer environment in which to enter a structure, fight the remaining fire and rescue victims.
Using the FIT-5 knocks down fires quickly without relying on pressured water. What helps make firefighting safer can also reduce property damage and insurance claims.
In Port Jervis, New York, firefighters used a FIT-5 to enter a house fire. After dousing the fire with the FIT-5, firefighters later found a propane tank nearby. If the propane tank had exploded, the entire home might have been destroyed.
The FIT-5 extinguishes contained fires in spaces up to 1,700 cubic feet, so it can work in rooms, boats and vehicles. It also slows fires in larger rooms.
Insurance companies realize the FIT-5’s usefulness, and many insurance policies will pay to replace used FIT-5s.
ARA Safety is currently developing a version of the FIT-5 for homeowners. Soon, homeowners will not only benefit from firefighters’ new technology, they will also be able to use state-of-the-art fire safety equipment at home.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Fireplace Chimneyt…
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