Deployment Stories

Ara Safety's Fire Interruption Technology Saves Lives and Property in New York

Port Jervis, New York
December 2007

Ara Safety's new first response fire knockdown tool, is being credited with saving buildings and lives following a third floor house fire in Port Jervis, NY. The responding Fire Chief's account of the fire follows:

"On 12/27/07 at 3PM the City of Port Jervis was dispatched to a structure fire at 19 Elizabeth Street. Upon arrival I found a 3-story building with a fire on the 3rd floor. I climbed the fire escape to the 3rd floor with [Ara's device], broke the window and deployed the unit. There was heavy smoke coming from the window in which I threw the unit. Within a minute after deployment the smoke seemed to die down. This allowed us time to stretch lines up the stairwell to the 3rd floor.

Crews found the fire in a bedroom that sustained heavy damage. The rooms adjacent to the fire room only sustained smoke and heat damage. I accredit this to [Ara's device] that held the fire damage to the one room for approximately 15 minutes. There was some water damage to the apartment on the 1st and 2nd floors, but it was minimal compared to other fires I have attended over the past 35 years.

After arson investigators finished their investigation we continued our mop-up in the closet of the fire room and found a 20 lb. propane cylinder. It is possible that [Fire Interruption Technology] saved the lives of our firefighters who were inside the building as well as those outside. A cylinder of this size would have caused a loss to the entire building, the adjacent buildings, fire apparatus, and most importantly, human lives."

- Joseph J. Kowal Sr., Chief, City Of Port Jervis, N.Y.

« Back to Deplyment Stories