Ara fit 5

[Capt387]

Is there anyone using the FIT 5 grenade, how is it working for you, any forseeable issues? A friends department in my county is looking at them? Oh and yes I did a search but the darned thing isn't working right tonight.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Is there anyone using the FIT 5 grenade, how is it working for you, any forseeable issues? A friends department in my county is looking at them? Oh and yes I did a search but the darned thing isn't working right tonight.

That should be an omen....

[FyredUp]

Well Cap...

There was a long and VERY bloody discussion about the FIT 5 about a year and a half ago here at FH.com.

I will tell you I saw one used at a live fire training in a mobile home. We had a rocking fire going in a bedroom and the salesman tossed in the FIT 5. It fired off as it was supposed to and knocked the fire down. It did NOT extinguish the fire and for dang sure didn't cool the atmosphere one bit.

My analysis? As a last ditch effort while you were waiting for an engine to arrive perhaps. It could possibly hold the fire in check until an engine arrived. I don't know if it is still an issue or not, but they had a record of the devices failing to go off once activated. The company would replace the defective one, but that did little to solve the burning building problem. The other issue was the cost, I don;t remember exactly but I believe they were over a thousand dollars a piece.

I have never tried it but I would love to see how just a 10 or 20 pound ABC extinguishe would work if we dumped the entire extinguisher into the fire room.

[FiremanLyman]

I am sure there is an application for this... rural volunteer chief buggy maybe?

The angry feeling you are sensing on this topic comes from a push by certain individuals who like to spout off about how the world is changing and technology like this will make an interior attack obsolete. There also have been city's trying to cut staffing. stating that technology like this can reduce manpower needs. Problem is; this product will not conduct a primary search, salvage personal possessions or perform CPR.

Like I said, I am sure there is a use out there for this product. Just not on a staffed engine company.

[Bones42]

Well Cap...

There was a long and VERY bloody discussion about the FIT 5 about a year and a half ago here at FH.com.

...

for some reason...I think it was started by the OP back then.

*** my mistake....was not him. ***

[hwoods]

Someone jump in if I'm off Track, but weren't the earlier threads about that thing started by a "Sales Rep" for the Manufacturer or something like that??.......

[Dickey]

Yes, you are correct sir!

[ChiefKN]

Oh NOES! Not this again....

[Capt387]

Bones, nope wasn't me at the time I started the thread I wasnt able to get search to work and I wasn't trying to lead respones either way. However since its inseption I havent really liked the product personally, and no I am not a salesman but have had an ability to sense out products that really weren't the "next big thing". In my 25yrs there have been "firemen proof" products that have hit the market and in every instance we have given the anvil back in two pieces. Had a dealer that wanted to demo this "pac tracker" gizmo once until he found out I was going to field try it on my shift and for some strange reason he needed it for a demo later that evening. I had intended to take it to a factory on my shift where the RF interference would be off the charts and the little 900mhz unit wouldn't work farther than 50ft and he knew it. Guess what, we still don't own them....

[BULL321]

Bones, nope wasn't me at the time I started the thread I wasnt able to get search to work and I wasn't trying to lead respones either way. However since its inseption I havent really liked the product personally, and no I am not a salesman but have had an ability to sense out products that really weren't the "next big thing". In my 25yrs there have been "firemen proof" products that have hit the market and in every instance we have given the anvil back in two pieces. Had a dealer that wanted to demo this "pac tracker" gizmo once until he found out I was going to field try it on my shift and for some strange reason he needed it for a demo later that evening. I had intended to take it to a factory on my shift where the RF interference would be off the charts and the little 900mhz unit wouldn't work farther than 50ft and he knew it. Guess what, we still don't own them....

May the Force continue to be with you! If you ever have to depend on a fit-5 you'll damn sure need it

[FyredUp]

Bull,

While I certainly wouldn't eplace the fire department, or reduce staffing and equipment because I had Fit 5s, I can see a use for them. Rural fires, distant from the station, where a command car, or strategically placed volunteers, had them in their car, may be appropriate use of them. If nothing else to buy time for the FD to arrive.

But like I said earlier, I would love to take a 10 or 20 pound extinguisher and pop a hole in a window and dump the extinguisher contents into the room and see how that would work. The great advantage if it works is that the cost for an extinguisher recharge is far less than the cost of a FIT 5.