Frequently Asked Questions about 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.

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 (eg the banned Halothane type). However, we would not recommend having the discharge aimed at a person’s face for period of time.

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, often they haven’t been!

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 a typical powder or foam extinguisher which often create more damage and mess than the fire itself. 

Does it need servicing & 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 service or upkeep. In addition the solid chemical that makes up the Fire Safety Stick has a theoretical non-expiry date. In 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 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, 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.

But I have had this extinguisher for nearly 10 years and it still has a green pressure gauge

Regular fire extinguishers MUST be serviced every year and professionally replaced after five, trust us, we know that’s our background! 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. But with a Fire Safety Stick, you have no regrets, even without any maintenance, after 10 years it will still give that full fire fighting capacity as it would have done on the day you bought it.

"Proven shelf life of 15 years" but a "3-year warranty", is that right?

I know it seems confusing, but the 3-year warranty is provided for by the manufacturers. However, the chemistry of the “active ingredients” is such that it does not decompose, well certainly not for 20-30 years at least. It has no moving parts nor it is pressurised so there no other points of failure and therefore 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 FSS manufactured from 15 years ago and tested them. And of course, still 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 to last much much longer than just a year.

Can I refill it?

The Fire Safety Stick is a single-use fire extinguisher. Once activated, it will continue to discharge until empty. Once finished it's 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 and /or re-charged if suitable. Also even if they are only used for a fraction of their capacity, they must also be professionally recharged.

Is it safe to transport?

The two components necessary for the ignition of the FSS are placed on opposite ends of the device, rendering accidental ignition during transport and storage impossible. Also, because the FSS 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 head piece –igniter- made out of phosphorous).

Will it explode?

No, the unit remains fully intact and is not pressurised at all. Only if exposed to extreme temperatures  – 350 degrees Celsius (that of a fire!) would it then activate   and sends 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 FSS is not an aerosol in the conventional sense ie 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 a 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 as between from -10°C to +50°C – in a standard test. In fact, it’s usability has been confirmed separately -140°F to +320°F

But I could buy a normal extinguisher for a lot less

Yes, you could, but 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 5 years maximum and even then, only if they are serviced every year (which will cost you further). The FSS 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 two different ones. The Fire Safety Stick, however, is suitable for all major classifications so you only need one. Finally, if you did use a traditional extinguisher or accidentally set it off, the mess it creates will cost you an awful lot more. The FSS leaves no mess, no residue and no corrosive damage.

The FSS has already saved some users £,000’s instead them having a traditional extinguisher!

Do you do a "plumbed-in" self-activating system for cars?

Not yet no, but is something that our research and development department is working on. Ensuring the activation is totally reliable is crucial. It may take some time yet and there is not date for planned release yet. But we are working on it! As soon as we are ready, you will hear it here first!

Should I use a fire extinguisher or just get out?

You and your family's safety must always come first, don’t be a hero! Yes, the fire brigade often gives the advice of just get out, call them and stay out.

But if the fire has just started and is still manageable and only if it is safe for you to deal with it, then you can with 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 to do so.

Often householders would panic and use the incorrect type of extinguisher for that type of fire. Using one on a cooking oil fire, for example, would make it much worse. It’s this 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 dangerous gambling whether you have the right extinguisher. It lasts much longer and you can even leave it to continue suppressing that fire, whilst you escape (subject to the size of FSS used and enclosed room size)

Remember, all fire extinguishers are only suitable at the early stages of a fire and the danger of a fire can quickly escalate.