What is the Fire Safety Stick?
Fire Safety Stick is an innovative portable extinguishing device with remarkable extinguishing capacity, designed to aid in the suppression of incipient fires and for use as a personal protection device. It is a simple and easy way to ensure that you are prepared in the event of a fire in your home, office or vehicle. Small and lightweight, the Fire Safety Stick is environmentally friendly and can be safely stored for easy access in an emergency, preventing the fire from getting out of hand.
What is the discharge time of the Fire Safety Stick?
There are currently two options available depending on their minimum discharge times – 50 seconds and 100 seconds.
Just compare that to a traditional powder extinguisher weighing 1kg to 2kg – these would only have a discharge time of just 7 seconds – providing it has been correctly maintained, which they often haven’t been!
Is the gas safe to breathe?
Yes, the Fire Safety Stick discharge is safe to breathe and is both non-corrosive and non-toxic. So it’s fine around children and pets too. General safe practices are always recommended. Although the FSS acts by removing the oxygen, it does this at the flame level, interrupting the chain of combustion (fire triangle – Heat/Fuel/Oxygen).
But, it does not remove the local oxygen levels that would prevent breathing as some traditional extinguishers did (e.g. the banned Halon type). However, we would not recommend having the discharge aimed at a person’s face for period of time.
What about the environment?
Fire Safety Stick has no global warming potential and no ozone depletion potential.
Is it safe to use in a confined room?
Yes absolutely! We have tested activating the Fire Safety Stick in a small room to ensure that it doesn’t impact breathing or visibility. We did this in a closed room 3m x 3m. It was very much like someone was “vaping” in the room, both visibility and breathing were not impeded too much at all. Of course in a real fire situation, the smoke inhalation from the fire would be a much greater danger.
In fact, one of the great advantages of the Fire Safety Stick is that in confined areas, you can activate it, and leave to work in the room whilst you escape. No need to hold a trigger to keep it going!
Does it make a mess like traditional extinguishers?
No! The discharge gas form the Fire Safety Stick is totally clean and will not leave any damaging residue. During discharge a chemical reaction does take place which occasionally expels a trace amount of soot from the casing. Even in the most extreme instance, the net total of discharge is so minuscule compared to a traditional extinguisher that it is effectively considered to be non-existent. Beyond the clean nature of the discharge, FSS is non-corrosive, non-toxic, and environmentally safe. Compare this to typical powder or foam extinguishers which often create more damage and mess than the fire itself.
Does it need servicing and does it have a shelf life?
Its solid construction, no moving parts, and lack of compressed gas (unlike a traditional fire extinguisher) means it will never need any professional service. In addition, the solid chemical that makes up the Fire Safety Stick has a theoretical non-expiry date, though here in the UK we suggest 15 years based upon current tests, the manufacturers have batch-tested FSS that were 15 years since manufacture and still completely operational.
Does it have a British Standard Approval or Kitemark?
The FSS has the European CE mark and UKCA mark of approval, it also has numerous other certifications from around the world, including independent tests to confirm its ability to extinguish classes A, B, C, Electrical to 100,000 volts and class F fires.
Currently, it does not have the British Standards (BSi) Approval and therefore, a Kitemark. Existing BSi approvals for extinguishers (EN3) are based upon traditional pressurised extinguishers, with specific guidelines to pressure gauges, corrosion tests etc. However, because the Fire Safety Stick is a totally unique system and so current guidelines do not apply to it at all. It doesn’t even come under the BS6165:2019 for small disposable fire extinguishers, as it’s a non-pressurised, non-aerosol type. Therefore, they would need to create a whole new approvals process for this type of extinguisher which has only been introduced to the UK market since Spring 2019.
I have had a traditional fire extinguisher for nearly 10 years, and it still has a green pressure gauge. Does that mean it is still OK to use?
The majority of traditional pressurised fire extinguishers MUST be serviced every year and professionally replaced after 5. The pressure gauges are a well-known failure point, the rubber o-rings inside easily perish and the gauge will stick. Plus the contents in powder extinguishers clump together.
Then in that emergency when you really need that extinguisher, it will fail or only give you a few seconds of fire fighting time. With a Fire Safety Stick you won't have this issue; with basic regular self checking after 15 years it will still give that full fire fighting capacity as it would have done on the day you bought it.
Fire Safety Stick has a proven shelf life of 15 years but a "3-year warranty", is that right?
It might seem confusing, but the 3-year warranty is provided by the manufacturer, however the chemistry of the “active ingredients” is such that it will not decompose for 20 to 30 years. It has no moving parts nor is it pressurised so there are no other points of failure and therefore it needs no maintenance (as long as it is stored correctly of course). The 15-year shelf life has been tested and verified. The manufacturers have taken a batch of Fire Safety Sticks manufactured from 15 years ago and tested them - they still all worked perfectly.
It’s a little like buying something from the shops, it will come with a 1-year warranty, but you would certainly expect it to last much longer than this.
Can I refill it?
The Fire Safety Stick is a single-use fire extinguisher. Once activated, with it will continue to discharge until empty. Once finished its safe to domestically recycle the two remaining components (the aluminium tube and the black plastic handle).
Whereas traditional extinguishers, once activated must be commercially disposed of or recharged if suitable. Also even if they are only used for a fraction of their capacity, they must also be professionally recharged.
Are Fire Safety Sticks safe to transport?
The two components necessary for the ignition of the Fire Safety Stick are placed on opposite ends of the device, rendering accidental ignition during transport and storage impossible. Also, because the Fire Safety Stick is not pressurised at all, unlike traditional extinguishers you do not need to worry about any associated risks with them. Of course, we would always recommend sensible safe practices when storing them.
The activation is produced by a lighter made up of two elements, situated on opposite extremes of the product. The potassium-based first element is located in the upper extreme of the article; the second element is located in the inner extreme of the article and is composed of a rubbing head situated on the phosphorous-based extractable plug (i.e. the first component, a dry round area, is protected by a protection cap, and is at the top of the product; the second component, inserted as a cap in the handle is a scratchable headpiece –igniter- made out of phosphorous).
Unlike most other extinguishers, it is non-pressurised, which means it doesn’t have the same restrictions when it comes to transportation. If you do plan on taking one abroad, on a flight, then you should of course check with the airline before travelling.
Can a Fire Safety Stick explode?
No, the unit remains fully intact and is not pressurised at all. Only if exposed to extreme temperatures of 350 degrees Celsius (that of a fire!) would it then activate and send out an aerosol* stream.
*This is the descriptive process that an aerosol spray is created with the particles and Nitrogen gas during the activation process. The Fire Safety Stick is not an aerosol in the conventional sense i.e. a pressurised can under constant pressure controlled by a nozzle.
The non-explosiveness of the Fire Safety Stick aerosol fire suppressant is officially recognised, value binding, and has European validity by the Italian Ministerial Decree 04/04/1973 by Homeland Security 557/PAS.7317-XV.J.(3766) (Prevention and monitoring, possession of illegal fireworks and classified as non-exploding), in conformity with Ministerial Decree D.M. 4.4.1973 (G.U. n. 120 dated 10.5.1973) further to the advice by the Advisory Committee for Weapons Control as well as by the Prefecture in Turin, Italy.
What about storing it in extreme temperatures?
Storage has been verified between -50°C to +80°C – in a standard test, without any issues.
A normal fire extinguisher is cheaper, why should I buy a Fire Safety Stick?
Overall the Fire Safety Stick is much better value and will cost a lot less in the long run. Traditional extinguishers only have a shelf life of a maximum of 5 years and even then, only if they are serviced every year (which will cost you further). The Fire Safety Stick needs no servicing at all, and has a proven shelf life of over 15 years. Depending on the risk of different classes of fires, you may need to have more than one traditional fire extinguisher, whereas with the Fire Safety Stick you will only need one as it is suitable for all major fire classifications. Finally, if you did use a traditional extinguisher or accidentally set it off, the mess it creates will be costly. The Fire Safety Stick leaves no mess, no residue and no corrosive damage.
Should I always try and use a fire extinguisher, or is it better to just get out?
You and your family's safety must always come first. Don’t be a hero! The fire brigade's advice is get out, call them and stay out.
But if the fire has just started; is still manageable, then, only if it is safe for you to deal with it, you can use a Fire Safety Stick. If you can extinguish that fire before it gets too large and destroys everything, then you should but only if you are completely confident in doing so.
Historically householders have used the incorrect type of extinguisher for a particular type of fire. Using the wrong extinguisher on a cooking oil fire, for example, can make it much worse. This is the reason why the fire brigade advises you against using extinguishers if not properly trained.
With the Fire Safety Stick its much safer, as it works on all major types of fire, so there is no danger that you have the right extinguisher. It lasts much longer and you can even leave it to continue suppressing the fire, whilst you escape (subject to the size of FSS used and enclosed room size).
Remember, fire extinguishers should only be used at the early stages of a fire. The danger of a fire can escalate quickly.
Can Fire Safety Sticks work on lithium battery fires?
Lithium battery fires are complex as they can involve electronics, as well as flammable liquids and gases. They don't just fall into one category, they cover several classes, including A, B, and C. Although a Fire Safety Stick could easily extinguish a single cell, in reality these fires often escalate due to thermal runaway effects, and react very unpredictably. Therefore only trained professionals should handle lithium battery fires.
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