Fire extinguishers – we all carry one, right? But how old and has it been maintained?
Will it work when you finally need it?
Is there any new technology in the fire-fighting world that we could use?
We were first alerted to the Firestryker when one of our staff members acquired some from an international source. Wes did a review in our print magazine and we’ve been excited by the product since.
Thanks to ARB, technology that has matured over the last 10 years in South Africa is finally available on the retail market in Australia.
21st century solution to an age-old problem
Instead of suffocating the flame with a powder, taking the heat out of it with a liquid or reducing the oxygen levels required for combustion as with CO2, Firestrykers use potassium, which rapidly oxidises in air, consuming the oxygen. Furthermore, the chemical reaction is a relatively slow process so it keeps on working and consuming the oxygen, preventing reignition. The Firestryker has a 100-second operating time, which is vastly greater than that of typical 1.8kg dry chemical extinguishers.
The Firestrykers are maintenance-free and have a shelf life of 10 years, far in excess of any traditional liquid, powder or CO2 extinguisher. They don’t need shaking to prevent settling like dry powder extinguishers and won’t lose pressure like traditional extinguishers; just mount them somewhere easy to grab hold of and they are always ready.
Firestryker has been tested and certified to meet Australian and New Zealand standards.
Firestryker is a new kid on the block – it’ll be hard for staunch advocates of traditional methods to accept, but set to save a lot of distress when things get a bit too hot. Priced around $165 each, they aren’t as cheap as traditional fire extinguishers but pack a lot of punch and are still cheaper than a burnt-out 4X4!
Weighing just 365 grams and only 33cm long, a Firestryker is far easier to handle as well as less dangerous if it comes adrift during an accident. I’d rather be hit in the head by a 365 gram plastic tube than a 1.8kg steel bottle!
Get down to your local ARB store and grab one for each car pronto.
Heck, I might get one for the garage at home too!
