FireStop: One Dollar, Hundreds of Lives


When a fire in a slum begins, hundreds of lives can be lost in a few moments. Slums in Mumbai, Jakarta, and all over the world suffer many fires per year. With shantytowns built so close together and with highly-flammable materials, it is a short period of time between a small flare-up and a humanitarian disaster.

So what if you could build a fire extinguisher for these people? What if you could build an extinguisher that could reach into the realm of Humanitarian Aid? How do you do this in a way that is ecologically responsible? What if you could build it...
for one dollar.

The traditional structure of a fire extinguisher has far too many parts to stay within the goal. Two metal cylinders, both of which will be under pressure when firing, valves, pins, nozzles, all must function perfectly for the extinguisher to fire. The valves pose a risk of leaking, and must be checked regularly. Clearly a new way of building a fire extinguisher must be developed.

If all that is needed is force and a suppressant, what if something like a solid fuel rocket engine were used? The technology exists and the manufacturing is simple. Could the chemistry be modified in a way that a reactant and propellant could react against each other, creating a suppressant? Ends up that Potassium Carbonate, Nitrogen, and Carbon Dioxide do just the trick- well, plus some other stuff.

In the end, nothing like a traditional extinguisher, FireStop answers the beginning goals. By using recycled and recyclable materials, FireStop provides maximum economy and safety to put out fires in the most desperate parts of the world. With its low cost and ease of distribution, FireStop caters directly to disaster relief and humanitarian aid.

In Spring of 2006, FireStop was selected by an Ohio law firm to be patented pro bono for its humanitarian potential. After patenting, licensing, and additional research, work will begin to find a manufacturer.

Help us get this started and vote for FireStop!

Submitted By:

  • Noel Gauthier