The Fire Safety Stick is safe for humans and pets alike, even in confined spaces.

The Dogs Trust was established in 1891 providing a better future for dogs and the people who love them. Based nationally but with many regional centres and support locations across the country, they are able to support dogs in distress and where necessary rehome them into a new loving family.

As part of that process, they have a fleet of Dog Ambulances which are able to transport our canine friends safely. Dog Trust Cumbria’s manager Lisa Spence had heard about the Fire Safety Stick and its various advantages and soon realised it could be ideal to be installed into their fleet of dog ambulances.

Of course, the initial key factor was knowing that if discharged the Fire Safety Stick would be completely safe to use around not only their staff but also the dogs themselves. It was particularly crucial within the confined space of the vehicles. Unfortunately, the commonly used dry powder fire extinguisher, despite also being a very capable extinguisher, does have various health risks with inhalation and ingestion of the powder to humans and animals during discharge. In addition, because of the effect of restricted visibility with the powder, it is now a government recommendation that dry powder extinguishers should not be specified for confined spaces, such as for example, inside vehicles.

In addition, because it is so light and compact, it means less space and less fuel for the vehicles with a reduced payload. The Fire Safety Stick also has a 15-year shelf life, which is more than triple that of most other traditional extinguishers. Plus, there is no need for an external company to visit and service them every year. Instead, the Dog Trust’s own team members can carry out the simple, visual inspections to ensure they are ready for use at all times should an emergency occur. All these factors meant that there would be significant cost savings for the charity which relies on every single penny kindly donated.

There was another advantage that Lisa became aware of, is that the Fire Safety Stick is not pressurised, and is far more durable than traditional extinguishers which are pressurised, therefore there is no risk of accidental discharge if they were dropped or knocked in any way. Whereas for those pressurised extinguishers, if dropped or knocked, they are highly likely to begin discharging (eg the dry powder), and so distressing the dog even more.

Lisa took her recommendation to install the Fire Safety Sticks to the charity’s Health & Safety manager. They too, having done their own due diligence, were keen to see how the Fire Safety Stick would fare and gave their approval.

For the Dogs Trust, it is imperative to protect their employees and ensure that they have a route to protect themselves in the unfortunate event of a fire, but that they could also effectively help protect the dogs.

As a result, the sticks were ordered for the ambulances in the Cumbrian region, with two in each vehicle. Seeing this initial regional installation as a part of a possible pilot scheme, it is hoped that in time the Fire Safety Sticks would potentially be rolled out further to the charity’s other dog ambulances at other rehoming centres.