Police have to fight fires too. When they do, the extinguishers need to work.
Police in Lenexa, Ks. purchased 25 Cold Fire-brand extinguishers for $6,000 apiece after witnessing three fatal accidents last summer where victims died in flames. The extinguishers are the same type used to put out fires at the Indianapolis Speedway, according to the Kansas City Star.
Officials say the equipment not only snuffs fires faster but keeps the fires from reigniting and cools metal so rescuers can touch car parts without burning themselves as they rescue victims.
“We don’t know for sure that, even if we had that fire extinguisher, it would have put it (the fire) out,” Sgt. David Ogilvie said of the fatal incident last summer. “But maybe we could have put it out long enough to keep the fire away from the victim until fire trucks got there. … You always want to have the best equipment at the scene,” he told the Star.
Lenexa Police Department Officer Ted Gardner said the force needed new equipment because auto accident fires are difficult to fight.
Fire trucks have difficulty reaching the accident site quickly due to traffic. And Gardner said though most vehicles have switches that cut fuel flow to the engine upon impact, motorists still are in jeopardy from other potential fires.
“The fuel line could rupture and hit the manifold or engine, or a spark from the impact could ignite it,” Gardner said. “Metal against metal gives off sparks, and engines run at 100 degrees.”
The National Fire Protection Association said most vehicle fires are caused by mechanical or electrical problems, but fires involving crashes are more deadly. Though collisions and rollovers caused only 3 percent of the 266,500 vehicle fires in the United States reported in 2004, they accounted for 57 percent of the 520 deaths from vehicle fires that year in the U.S., the Star reported.
FireFreeze Worldwide Inc. manufactures the Cold Fire extinguisher. Stephanie Monrad, company spokeswoman, said the traditional method of putting out fires removes oxygen by smothering flames, but does not control the heat and fuel source, meaning the fire could reignite. She said wetting agents such as Cold Fire are mixed with water to remove heat by dousing flames. Cold Fire also removes the fuel source by condensing hydrocarbons but leaving oxygen for victims and emergency personnel to breathe.
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