MN8 Products has created a “bright” new product called the Foxfire Illumination Coating Kit. This innovative, do-it-yourself (DIY) kit allows you to turn common fire equipment into a functional glow stick. Without the use of batteries, firefighters are able to see each other in the darkness, which helps facilitate personnel accountability and makes it much easier to find a misplaced tool.
The DIY process involves doing some simple prep work to the object that you want illuminated. After cleaning and lightly sanding the object, throw on a coat of primer, then apply the two-part coating to the primed area. This coating is what makes the object glow. The entire process, including the time needed for the primer to dry, takes less than an hour, and the tool can be used within 24 hours.
The kit comes with everything you need to do the job, even a pair of gloves and a mixing attachment for the epoxy, which can be recharged by both sunlight and artificial light. But if you store your equipment in a compartment, as on most trucks today, it’s a good idea to wire the compartments to stay lit when the truck is in use. Also, try to allow light to hit all coated areas of the object to prevent an uneven glow.
To test this product, we painted an axe handle and portions of a fire hydrant. One of our biggest curiosities was to see exactly how long the axe would have to be exposed to light in order for it to sufficiently glow on scene.
We stowed the axe for 12 hours without any light source to simulate it being stored in a truck compartment without light. We then put the axe in a lit compartment for four minutes to simulate our approximate response time to a fire in our first due. To our amazement, the axe held a bright charge for about 45 minutes before it started to fade. We also simulated rooftop operations in which firefighters could not only see the axe from across the fireground, but they also knew the location of the firefighter carrying the axe the entire time. In short, this product worked extremely well, especially in areas unobstructed by smoke.
When we painted a fire hydrant, we found that the coating worked well in the early evening, but faded over time. It would also be somewhat costly to paint several hydrants.
Although the glow does emit light, don’t rely on it as your sole source of light when operating on the fireground, since it’s not intended to be used as a primary light source. Also keep in mind that the epoxy won’t cover a full complement of tools on the truck. One kit enabled us to coat most of our axe handle and the majority of a fire hydrant. We found it worked best and benefited us most when we used it on tools that we regularly use during a fire incident of average duration.
Although we tested only a couple of items, the applications for this product are endless, and you can be as creative as you want to be in the way that you use it. As personnel accountability is imperative on the fireground, this item definitely increases firefighter safety while making lost tools a thing of the past.
Note: Foxfire also recently announced a new product, a photoluminescent Grip Wrap that covers tool handles and comes in multiple daytime and glow colors.
Foxfire Illumination Coating Kit
Pros
+ Battery-free
+ Easy set-up
+ Needs only short exposure to light
+ All-inclusive kit
+ Multiple applications
Cons
– Won’t cover full
complement of tools
MN8 Products
10930 Loveland-Maderia Rd.
Unit 1E-1F
Loveland, Ohio 45140
Tel: 513/235-6383
Web: www.mn8products.com
