Flame-retardant grenades help firefighters, first responders

that leads to a thermal reaction within the FIT-5. Within ten seconds the container releases a white cloud of potassium carbonate aerosol that expands to fill an enclosure (room, basement, attic). A FIT-5 grenade is unlikely to leak and works when wet because it is not pressurized and has a sealed outer casing that keeps moisture out. In addition, even if the rip cord is not pulled, the device will automatically dispense the when placed in temperatures exceeding 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). “Once the FIT-5 is done, you’re left with potassium carbonate powder, which can be vacuumed or swept clean,” says Michael Gardner, ARA Safety’s director of marketing.

You would recall from your college chemistry courses that potassium carbonate, used in the production of soap and glass, must be handled carefully; it can be dangerous if inhaled (by irritating the respiratory tract and causing coughing and shortness of breath) or swallowed, potentially damaging the gastrointestinal tract and causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The odorless chemical can also severely irritate the eyes or skin if it comes in contact with either.

Andrew Schmidt, chief of Morris County, New Jersey’s Jefferson Township Fire Department (about forty-five miles northwest of New York City) used a FIT-5 in April to contain a basement fire in the nearby town of West Milford. Because most of the fire departments in the area are volunteer, Schmidt was unable to marshal much of a firefighting squad at 3 PM, when most of his volunteers were working their day jobs. On arriving at the burning basement, he broke one of the windows and tossed in an FIT-5, which held the flames in check until the fire trucks arrived.

“When you don’t have a truck, and you don’t have water, you’ve got to do something,” he says, adding that West Milford ended up using less than 200 gallons of water to extinguish a fire that easily could have required 6,000 gallons to put out. Schmidt was so impressed that he has become trainer and consultant for ARA Safety.

The company is now exploring developing a larger version of the device and hopes to offer, within the next year, a fixed system for homes and businesses which could be mounted on a wall or ceiling like a smoke detector and switched on when needed. This would be particularly useful in rooms containing lots of computers or other electronic equipment that would be ruined if water was used to douse the flames.