ACTIVE VIOLENCE WITH FIRE TESTING SESSION #1

REPORT

Loudoun County Fire & Rescue Training Center | Leesburg, VA Monday, December 17, 2018 | 8:00 a.m.

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PURPOSE

The Northern Virginia (NoVA) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Complex Coordinated

Terrorist Attack (CCTA) Grant and the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS) Fire as a

Weapon (FAW) Working Groups participated in a Fire as a Weapon Testing and Training Practical Session

on Monday, December 17, 2018, at the Loudoun County Fire & Rescue Training Center in Leesburg, VA.

Both regional groups conducted the testing and training practical as part of larger projects in the fire as

a weapon arena. The NoVA FEMA CCTA FAW Working Group is working to identify and test innovative

tools and methods to mitigate fire used as part of a CCTA. The NVERS FAW Working Group is working to

develop training curriculum for tactical law enforcement officers while operating in a fire environment.

In addition, Venti LLC. participated in the session to deploy the Intelipod Sensor System, which is a

technology for first responders to gather situational awareness data on an incident remotely. The

system is comprised of four pods with sensors that work to measure various elements of the

environment in which they are deployed into, including temperature, humidity, pressure, and carbon

dioxide levels.

This report is intended to provide descriptions of the scenarios and summaries on the findings and

recommendations, including photos, videos, and testing data.

AGENCY PARTICIPATION

Thirty-four participants representing nine Northern Virginia/Maryland jurisdictions were in attendance:

• Arlington County High Threat Response Program

• Arlington County Fire Department

• Arlington County Police Department

• Alexandria Fire Department

• Alexandria Police Department

• City of Fairfax Fire Department

• City of Fairfax Police Department

• Fairfax County Police Department

• Loudoun County Fire & Rescue

• Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office

• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department

• Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service

• Montgomery County Police Department

• Prince George’s County Fire & EMS Department

• Prince William County Fire & Rescue

• Prince William County Police Department

• Venti LLC.

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EXERCISE SUMMARY

The day started with a safety briefing and discussion of scenarios. The session was divided into three

parts:

• Part I: Pulling Charged Hose Lines and Using Firefighting Equipment

The goal of this part was aimed at familiarizing tactical officers with firefighting equipment, such

as 1 ¾ and 2 ½ -inch hose lines.

• Part II: STAT-X First Responder and Intelipod Testing

The goal of this part was to test the capabilities of the STAT-X First Responder fire suppressing

grenade as well as the capabilities of Intelipod during various fire scenarios.

• Part III: Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher Testing

The goal this part was to test the capabilities of the Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher during

various fire scenarios.

The NoVA HTRP Leadership Team recorded the testing for future training and deployment use. The burn

building is a three-story masonry structure with steel doors and shutters on the burn rooms to simulate

open/closed doors and windows. There were no external obstructions outside the building. All

participants were wearing the appropriate PPE.

EQUIPMENT/PRODUCTS

Below is a list of specific products that were tested during the Fire as a Weapon Testing and Practical

Session #1:

• Cold Fire Tactical Personal Extinguisher CF302 | 20TL (20 oz., 12 case) sold by Cold Fire Tactical

• Intelipod, FireFront System developed by Venti LLC

• Stat-X First Responder 500, Fast Acting Aerosol Fire Suppressant (500 g.) sold by Fireaway, Inc.

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Part 1

Pulling 1 ¾ and 2 ½ - inch Charged Hose Lines and Using Firefighting Equipment

HOSE LINE EXERCISE VIDEO

Purpose: This demonstration aimed to provide

law enforcement officers with an understanding

of how to deploy firefighting hose lines, both

charged and uncharged, as well as the reach of

the hose stream. The practical strived to provide officers a sense of the necessary time, effort, and

coordination needed to work with hose lines in a tactical environment.

The exercise started with firefighters demonstrating proper deployment of hose lines from an engine,

while officers observed. Afterwards, officers took turns pulling hose lines and managing flow for two

minutes while working in teams of two.

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Part 2

Stat-X First Responder and Intelipod System Testing

Purpose: This testing session aimed to test the efficacy of the Stat-X First Responder fire

suppressing grenades and the capabilities of the Intelipod Sensor System in different fire

scenarios. The Intelipod data was captured in a separate report (available upon

request).

Stat-X Testing Without a Fire Component

Location Number of Grenades

Conditions Results Video

Scenario 1 Outdoors 1 Open area, concrete

It took approximately 5 seconds after pin removal for the grenade to activate and the potassium- based aerosol was dispersed for about 25 seconds.

Video 1

Scenario 2 3rd floor of burn building

1 Closed doors and windows

Dispersal of the potassium-based aerosol was observed

Video 2

Scenario 3 3rd floor of burn building

1 Open doors and windows

Dispersal of the potassium-based aerosol was observed

Video 3

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Stat-X Testing With a Fire Component

Location Number of Grenades

Conditions Results Video

Scenario 4

3rd floor of burn building

1 One open window 3 wooden pallets and straw

Grenade had no effect on the fire. Fire was still free burning after test.

Video 4

Scenario 5

3rd floor of burn building

1 Windows closed 3 wooden pallets and straw

Grenade had little to no effect on fire. Fire was still free burning after test.

Video 5

Scenario 6

3rd floor of burn building

2 Windows closed 3 wooden pallets and straw

The grenade had some effect on the fire. Fire was suppressed for about 5 seconds but quickly came back burning.

N/A

Scenario 7

2rd floor of burn building

2 Windows closed 3 wooden pallets and straw

The grenade had some effect on the fire. Fire was suppressed for about 5 seconds but quickly came back burning.

N/A

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Part 3

Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher Testing

Purpose: Some tactical officers utilize personal extinguishers in the course of their duties;

however, rarely do they practice deployment or know the actual extinguishing

capabilities of the devices they are using. This exercise aimed to test the extinguishing

capabilities of Cold Fire, in various size Class A fires in an open, outdoor pan. Firefighters

demonstrated the proper method of deploying a personal extinguisher and then

individual law enforcement officers took turns extinguishing small fires using the

personal extinguishers.

Test 1 – No Fire

Cold Fire personal extinguisher was tested without fire and demonstrated 10 seconds of continued

operation.

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Test 2 – Small Wood Fire

2.1. Cold Fire Personal extinguisher was successful in extinguishing a small wood fire.

COLD FIRE TEST 2 (WOOD FIRE) VIDEO

2.2. For comparison purposes, a pressurized foam fire extinguisher was tested to completely extinguish

a small wood fire.

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Test 3 – Small Fuel Fire

3.1. Cold Fire Personal extinguisher was unsuccessful once and successful twice in extinguishing a small

fuel fire.

COLD FIRE TEST 3 (FUEL FIRE) VIDEO

3.2. For comparison purposes, a pressurized foam fire extinguisher was used to extinguish a small fuel

fire.

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Test 4 – Large Fire with Wood, Hay and Clothes

4.1. Cold Fire Personal extinguisher was not successful in completely extinguishing a larger fire with hay, clothes, wood, etc. Little to no effect in suppressing the fire, even with a second unit deployed.

COLD FIRE TEST 4.1 (LARGE FIRE) VIDEO

4.2. Two officers deployed Cold Fire personal extinguisher simultaneously. Fire was suppressed for about 5 seconds but came back burning.

COLD FIRE TEST 4.2 (LARGE FIRE) VIDEO

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4.3. For comparison purposes, a pressurized water fire extinguisher was tested to completely extinguish

the large fire.

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CONCLUSION

• Part 1 Pulling 1 ¾ and 2 ½ - inch Charged Hose Line and Using Firefighting Equipment The group considered this part successful, as police officers demonstrated a proper understanding and use of firefighting equipment.

• Part 2 Stat-X First Responder and Intelipod System Testing The group concluded that Stat-X First Responder was not effective under the testing conditions. Unfortunately, signal loss with the Intelipod system prevented conclusive results of the monitoring data in most of the fire scenarios. The system did provide data readings for Scenario #6 of Part II, please see Appendix C for more information.

• Part 3 Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher Testing The group concluded that the tool was effective against very small wood fires, with limited effectiveness against small fuel fires, and not effective against large fires. Traditional extinguishing methods (pressurized foam/water fire extinguishers) were confirmed effective against all 3 types of fire. The Intelipod data was in a separate report, created by Venti LLC, and is available upon request.

The exercise provided valuable practical understanding of the effectiveness of the tested tools in several common conditions. The tools were easy to deploy and some effect was observed but the results were not considered satisfactory enough to justify the purchase and deployment of Stat-X First Responder and Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher.

LIMITATIONS

• Part 1 Pulling 1 ¾ and 2 ½ - inch Charged Hose Line and Using Firefighting Equipment Due to the limited time and space, only a small number of officers got hands-on experience with the firefighting equipment.

• Part 2 Stat-X First Responder and Intelipod System Testing The size and layout of the building prevented the Intelipod signal from relaying information successfully, as well as prevented the STAT-X grenade from being as effective as it may have been in fully controlled conditions. The scenarios with closed windows and doors did not provide the desired environment, as the windows could not be shut completely and there were 2 semi-open shafts near the floor, letting air in. The length and location of the exercise did not allow for deploying more grenades in different fire settings and testing how the level of effectiveness may differ.

• Part 3 Cold Fire Personal Extinguisher Testing The testing was conducted only outdoors which did not allow for testing of indoor capabilities of

the tool.

This exercise did not comply to the scientific method but can serve as a basis for more rigorous future testing, in a controlled environment, resulting in more consistent data.

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NEXT STEPS

Both FAW Working Groups plan to conduct further testing with other traditional and non-traditional

extinguishing methods, and in taking part in future collaborative training sessions. The NoVA CCTA FAW

group is discussing the testing of other types of extinguishing grenades, piercing nozzles, a high-rise

nozzle, robots, and more. The group will continue to test the capabilities of the Intelipod Sensor System

for application in CCTA events and provide feedback. The group is also scheduled to meet with

Underwriters Laboratories to discuss collaboration and testing opportunities in the coming weeks.

Future testing session may take place in different locations and conditions and utilize various equipment

to improve and expand first responder capabilities in the region.

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APPENDIX A

Full List of Participants

1. Joe Allen, Prince William County Police Department 2. Nicolas Andrews, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 3. Dalton Becker, Fairfax County Police Department 4. Elizabeth Broadus, Venti 5. James Carter, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 6. Eric Cembrook, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department 7. Paul DeHaven, Fairfax County Police Department 8. John Delaney, Arlington County Fire Department 9. Jasen Dodson, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 10. Eric Garza, Prince William County Police Department 11. Timothy Gosbee, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 12. Nate Hiner, Arlington County Fire Department 13. Douglas Hinkle, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service 14. Ed Hoffman, Venti 15. Jeffrey Hunt, City of Fairfax Police Department 16. Eva Jernegan, High Threat Response Program 17. Jason Koglin, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 18. Michael Kronzek, Montgomery County Police Department 19. Michael Laird, Arlington County Police Department 20. Gene Luckinbill, Prince William County Fire & Rescue 21. Michael Marino, Prince George’s County Fire & EMS Department 22. Michael Marrinan, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 23. Daneen Matheson, High Threat Response Program 24. Boyd Morris, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 25. Daniel Ogren, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service 26. Matthew Orloski, Arlington County Fire Department 27. Gregory Pass, Prince William County Police Department 28. David Peary, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 29. Kirk Picou, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 30. Jacob Premich, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 31. Tom Ries, Venti 32. Vincent Ruggero, Arlington County Police Department 33. Joel Sauer, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue 34. Christopher Sawyer, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office 35. Chad Stamps, Arlington County Fire Department 36. Jason Story, Alexandria Police Department 37. Scott Trottman, City of Fairfax Fire Department 38. Scott Vago, Prince William County Police Department 39. Ray Whatley, Alexandria Fire Department 40. Jeff Wolfe, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue

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APPENDIX B

Intelipod Report Data (full report available upon request)

Figure 1.

Intelipod Locations

Figure 2.

Number of Data Points

Received from each

Intelipod over Time

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Test Data and Observations for Test 6 (Scenario 6)

Two (2) grenades deployed indoors, in a 3rd floor room with door and windows closed and 3 wooden pallets and straw on fire. The grenade had some effect on the fire. Fire was suppressed for about 5 seconds but quickly came back burning. This was the only scenario in which the system’s signal was able to relay data.

Figure 3. Quality of Signal Reception

Figure 4. Temperature Data

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Figure 5. Humidity Data

Figure 6. Acceleration Data

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Figure 7. Pressure Data

Figure 8. CO2 Data

(parts per million)

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Figure 9. VOC Data

(parts per million)

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REFERENCES

1. Venti, LLC. 2018. Intelipod Test Report.

2. Intelipod. Retrieved from http://www.ventillc.com/our-system-by-venti.html#intelipod2

3. Stat-X First Responder. Retrieved from https://statx.com/product/stat-x-first-responder/

4. Cold Fire Tactical. Retrieved from https://www.coldfiretactical.com/products/