Over the past few years, several manufacturers have developed compact self-contained chemical-extinguishing devices for firefighter use. They were developed to help knock down free-burning compartmented fires, in order to make conditions safer for firefighters.

These devices, once activated by pull pins or cords, use either an exothermic chemical reaction or gas pressure to produce an extinguishing agent, in most cases potassium-based, that is then expelled from the device in aerosol form. The units contain a light-powder extinguishing agent that inhibits the chain reaction of the fire. This disruption in the chain reaction of the fire also lowers the room temperature.

Such devices can suppress fires in a single room and some in an area up to 2,000 cubic feet. The devices, when applied properly, can save on the amount of water needed to extinguish a fire and subsequently the water damage to the occupancy. All fires must be overhauled by conventional methods after initial fire knockdown in order to prevent re-ignition. Some applications for these types of devices include room and contents fires, basement fires, attic fires, rapid-intervention-team protection, electrical vault fires, and shipboard firefighting.

Our department used these devices on two single-family house fires just weeks after taking delivery of them in 2008, with very different results; however, both resulted in safer interior conditions for attack teams and less water damage.

In the first instance, a woman was outside her home when she heard a “pop;” she then went inside and found smoke in the residence. Upon arrival the structure was found to be a single-family, ranch-style home of wood-frame construction. Smoke was showing from the exterior on the A side, coming from the front door of the residence and the door to the mudroom, but no visible fire was found. A primary search of the first floor revealed a basement fire with access from the mudroom between the garage and the residence. Heavy black smoke and high heat was encountered at the top of the stairwell. However, no visible fire could be seen from the stairwell.

A self-contained chemical-extinguishing device was deployed while the attack team was advancing a 1-3/4-inch hand line to the top of the basement stairs. The extinguishing device was heard activating and visual confirmation was made when the product began emitting from the chimney, stairwell and basement window vents. The device was allowed to operate, and then the attack team advanced the hand line down the basement stairs with the assistance of a thermal-imaging camera in coordination with ventilation. No fire was found. Once the basement was ventilated, smoldering remains were found that consisted of a few magazines that were extinguished using less than one gallon of water from an extinguisher. The fire was confirmed to be knocked down and no extension was found in the basement or first floor. No water was used via the hand line due to the use of the extinguishing device for initial knockdown.

The second deployment involved a residential structure fire in a rural part of our community that has no fire hydrants. Subsequent dispatches advised that police on location had confirmed a working house fire with heavy flame showing. Dispatch followed automatic and mutual-aid protocols and alerted three stations for full response and a water-tender assignment. The home was a single-family ranch of about 4,000 square feet, with heavy fire involvement on the A side (driveway side) that extended toward the B side of the structure.

About 500 square feet of the structure was involved with fire, and was venting through the roof on arrival. The first incoming engine was directed to lay the supply line from the end of the driveway up to the residence. It was decided to use a transitional attack to gain control of the fire. Initial attack consisted of a 2-1/2-inch line to darken the fire on the exterior of side A. The attack continued with a 1-3/4-inch hand line through front door once forcible entry was accomplished. Simultaneously with forcible entry, a self-contained chemical extinguishing device was deployed via a bedroom window located on the A side adjacent to the garage, where the heaviest fire was found, to knock down fire and halt fire extension.

The deployment was successful in limiting fire spread and cooling the atmosphere in the residence, as the attack team found upon entry that the device had extinguished the fire located in the hallway landing and stairwell, which allowed the attack team to advance to the front room and rear hallway of the residence to extinguish the fire. As the attack team advanced, the hallway and foyer ceilings were pulled and exposed to check for extension. It was found that the fire located in the attic above the rear hallway was extinguished prior to being opened up. It was determined later that this occurred as a result of deploying the self-contained chemical-extinguishing device.

The extinguishing agent had risen in the thermal column into the attic over the foyer, hallway and kitchen, extinguishing the hidden fire. This meant that the fire that otherwise would have been burning above the advancing firefighters had been extinguished prior to their advance. The device also eliminated the need for any water to be used for extinguishment or overhaul over that area, thus resulting in no water damage to the main kitchen area. The device in this case did not extinguish the entire fire but effectively extinguished it in the foyer and stair landings, which prevented fire spread and knocked down the fire until attack crews were in place, thus making advancement safer for the attack team.

While these fires were different in nature, the use of self-contained chemical-extinguishing devices allowed crews to advance into more tenable conditions and permitted safer fire attack, in addition to lessening damage due to water application. Should your department own these devices or plan on purchasing them in the future, it is important that standard operating procedures and guidelines be developed for their use, as would be done with any firefighting tool in your arsenal. Remember that these devices are just another tool in the firefighting toolbox. They aren’t the save-all for the fire service and aren’t meant to replace firefighters or conventional firefighting methods. These devices also are not going to be appropriate for all fires. But they do have their place and, when used properly, can help with the fire service’s core mission: improve firefighter safety, victim safety and limit property damage.

• Read the "Self-Contained Chemical Extinguisher Deployment Guidelines" sidebar to learn more.

David Congini, CFPS, is a captain with the Neshannock Township (Pa.) Fire Department.

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