Ever see one of these? That’s what she said. <!—-><!—-><!—->
Actually, I came upon this item when doing a large remodel. It was hanging in the clients’ attic. Long forgotten. They did not want it, so I brought it home to find something out about it.
I’ve attached two photos below.
The label on it reads:<!—-><!—->
RED COMET: The Original Automatic Fire Extinguisher. For manual use, throw to splash over burning area. Red Comet, Incorporated <!—-> <!—-><!—->Littleton<!—->, <!—->Colorado<!—-> <!—->U.S.A.<!—-><!—-><!—-><!—->
When heated, the spring on the bottom would give way and cause the glass to break, causing the liquid contents of the bottle to pour out. <!—-><!—->
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I found the information below in a google search…<!—-> <!—->
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In the 1920’s & 1930’s, Fire Grenades were manufactured by Red Comet, Inc. of <!—-> <!—->Littleton<!—->, <!—->Colorado<!—-><!—->. <!—-><!—->
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They were generally held in special racks of 3 or 6 grenades or a carrying case of 6 grenades.<!—-><!—->
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The grenades were thrown into the flames to shatter & release the fire fighting agent.<!—-><!—->
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Racks could also be bought as “Automatic” units where a fusible link would release lead slugs to shatter the grenades and release the fluid.<!—-><!—->
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Earlier brands of grenade were filled with a variety of water based solutions including brine or water and bicarbonate of soda. <!—-><!—->
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Some of the Red Comet grenades used Carbon Tetrachloride. <!—-><!—->
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Their design was one of economy, low maintenance and ease of use, with aesthetic and brand identity considerations leading to the various patterns and colors seen. Harden is another well known manufacturer.<!—-><!—->
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The principle was simple – an always ready source of extinguishant that could be easily used by simply throwing at the heart of the flames from a safe distance.<!—-><!—->
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Manufacturers of CTC grenades produced many claims of efficacy from fire depts and the like but in reality their effectiveness was limited. The <!—->amo<!—->unt of agent contained was too small for many fires (many success stories refered to several being having to be used in a go) the method of delivery was haphazard and required both a reasonable aim and striking a solid surface sufficiently to break the glass. Also the method of delivery of CTC was not the most efficient for extinction – for maximum efficacy vaporizing liquids such as CTC, <!—-><!—->CBM<!—->, <!—->MB<!—-><!—-> & Uni-Flash need to be delivered in a fine spray so as to absorb heat more readily and thus vaporize/decompose into their flame quenching state more effectively.<!—-><!—->
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For electrical, motor, and small fuel spill fires the Hand-Pump type vaporizing liquid extinguishers won the competition having more efficacy, being refillable and as such were produced world wide in the hundreds of thousands from the first Pyrene CTC in the 1910’s to the last CBM models in the late 1960’s.<!—-><!—->
“Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi
Replies
we had a few around the orchard when I was young - not the fancy spring loaded ones, but just the bulbs that nested in plastic holders attached to the wall - grab and throw at the fire -
fortunately never observed one used as intended-
David, do you have $ 40,000.00 sitting around?
Maybe you need one of these for the orchard.....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426104,00.html
Sounds like his neighbors are pretty ticked off.
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
Links to those things have been posted here on BT before. Sounds like the theory behind them isn't widely accepted....
People in Hell - where do they tell someone to go? [Red Skelton]
there's one of those in Indiana that I'm aware of - I've examined it, but have never heard one go off - they use acetylene for fuel - gotta be loud...."there's enough for everyone"
I have seen one that is slightly different. It was hung up on the wall and had some kind of "fusable" link to release the chemical automatically.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
My friends' old farmhouse had those mounted on the ceilings of all the rooms. Fortunately, they haven't tried to test them...
Yep, when I was a kid that was one of the things you could sell door-to-door. I think the ones available at the time generally contained carbon tet.
I used to see those hanging from the ceiling of Snow's old hardware store in Orleans MA in the 1950's
"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
I think you have an early edition of a fire extinguisher. The spring is released with high heat and breaks the glass letting the chemical on the fire.
Don't know for sure but I've been told that the chemical inside those is highly toxic - as you mention, carbon tetrachloride or similar.
Jeff
This will give you some idea:
COLOURLESS LIQUID, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ODOUR.
Physical dangers
The vapour is heavier than air.
Chemical dangers
On contact with hot surfaces or flames this substance decomposes forming toxic and corrosive fumes (hydrogen chloride ICSC0163, chlorine fumes ICSC0126, phosgene ICSC0007). Reacts with some metals such as aluminium, magnesium, zinc causing fire and explosion hazard.
Occupational exposure limits
TLV: 5 ppm as TWA, 10 ppm as STEL; (skin); A2 (suspected human carcinogen); (ACGIH 2004).
MAK: 0.5 ppm, 3.2 mg/m³; Peak limitation category: II(2); skin absorption (H); Carcinogen category: 4; Pregnancy risk group: D; (DFG 2004).
The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, through the skin and by ingestion.
Inhalation risk
A harmful contamination of the air can be reached very quickly on evaporation of this substance at 20°C.
Effects of short-term exposure
The substance is irritating to the eyes. The substance may cause effects on the liver, kidneys and central nervous system, resulting in unconsciousness. Medical observation is indicated.
Effects of long-term or repeated exposure
Repeated or prolonged contact with skin may cause dermatitis. This substance is possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Edited 9/23/2008 10:06 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
Thanks very much for that info.
The interesting thing is that while on my way home tonight I was thinking of googling that chemical.
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
Well just don't gargle it!
Jeff
Good for removing (i.e., dissolving) warts.
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
Super cool post! Thanks for shaing! Love old stuff!
d