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SALT LAKE CITY -- When a car goes up in flames on the highway, law enforcement is often the first on the scene. On Monday, several police and fire agencies witnessed tests for "Cold Fire," an environmentally-friendly extinguisher that's non-toxic, biodegradable and puts out a fire very quickly.
When flames engulf a car, every second counts, to save lives. In one demonstration, firefighters emptied five dry-chemical fire extinguishers on a burning car and still could not douse the flames.
When the firefighters fought a similar fire with Cold Fire, they knocked it down more quickly. The company credits Cold Fire's ability to remove heat from any material, even human skin.
"If you have someone trapped in a vehicle that's burning, you can actually spray cold fire on that person and give them a window, let's say 5 minutes. That's enough time for the fire department to get there and extract them," Ray Giessler with Fire Freeze, the company that manufactures Cold Freeze.
Cops carry fire extinguishers in their cars. Cold Fire contends their extinguishing agent does the job without harming the environment, responders or victims, and at a better price.
In other tests, the demonstrator took a blow torch to his arm after spraying it with Cold Fire and lit magnesium in my hand. The product created a thermal barrier that kept my hand cold, even while the magnesium burned in my palm at 5,600 degrees.
Several police agencies, including the state police, wanted to see what Cold Fire could do.
"The product seems very impressive," said Lt. Kirk Middaugh, of the Utah Highway Patrol. "You saw the difference between the dry-chemical extinguishers that we carry, and have for years, and their product. It seemed to be much more effective."
The auto racing industry and several fire and police departments nationwide already use Cold Fire.
"We're not trying to turn police officers into firemen," Giessler said. "We're just trying to give them a better tool from what they have now."
So far, no Utah departments have purchased or endorsed the product.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
