HOPING TO SAVE MORE LIVES

A California man has created a new type of fire shelter that can be used to protect homes and businesses, and perhaps most importantly, save lives. James Moseley, CEO of SunSeeker Enterprises, utilized NASA technology to create a blanket from a ceramic fiber material that does not burn and can withstand heat up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Moseley obtained the rights to this technology, which NASA uses on its spacecraft to handle the searing heat of atmospheric reentry, several years ago but originally intended to transform it into a product that could save structures. After one of the largest fires in Colorado history in Colorado Springs in early 2012 and the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona in 2013 that tragically took the lives of 19 firefighters, Moseley knew this technology could save lives too. And to prove its life-saving effectiveness, Moseley had quite the dramatic demonstration in a Los Angeles County firehouse in 2012. "I put the fire blanket underneath this turnout jacket I had and put a blowtorch to my arm," said Moseley.

"It went right through the turnout jacket in a second but I kept the flame on my arm because I had the blanket on — although the chairman of equipment development and the other firefighters didn't know I had the blanket on underneath. It caused a bit of a panic at the fire station until they saw just what this blanket could do." Moseley then went on to meet with LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby and U.S. Forest Service official Anthony Petrilli, who later would become the lead investigator of the Yarnell Hill fire. Moseley said they were very interested in his blanket but didn't have the money for the development at that time and wouldn't be looking for a new fire shelter until 2015. Moseley then briefly went back to working in construction with architects and instructing them how they could wrap beams in buildings and protect roofs with the blanket. But soon after, the Yarnell Hill fire occurred, once again changing the conversation. Forest Service and fire department officials began contacting Moseley about his fire blanket, inquiring about where he was in the testing process.

"I said ‘what testing? It won't burn.' I don't need to do any testing with it — I know it works," Moseley said. "But they wanted me to send it to their national lab, their testing center in Alberta, Canada. So I did." This is where even more people found out what the SunSeeker Fire Blanket could do. Central Arizona wild and firefighter/EMT Rick McCauley has seen firsthand what the SunSeeker Fire Blanket can do, and the vast difference from materials firefighters currently use.
"I've had my hand under the material while he's (Moseley) blowtorching a penny and melting it," said McCauley. "Your hand gets a little warm but that's about it and that's amazing for how thin the blanket really is and how hot the flame is. I would definitely use this,A high precision bearing is designed to deliver superior accuracy, and it requires appropriate care and handling. there's no doubt in my mind if it was out there and available to use." The SunSeeker Fire Blanket works, and Moseley is eager to prove it. However, the problems now lie in mass production of the blanket as well as in a deployment system for firefighters to use.

"I'm auditioning, so to speak, some really talented guys to help develop a deployment system, something that can deploy in two to three seconds and not 20 to 30 seconds," Moseley said. "The inconsistency firefighters face when trying to open these shelters in 50-mile-per-hour winds, for example,Pocket scissors supplier supplies high quality and reasonable price of best folding utility knife, is unacceptable. And that's how the whole thing has evolved." So another option Moseley and his team are working on is a spray utilizing this same technology that firefighters can put on the foil of their current fire shelters, for example, and keep the foil from disintegrating. "The reason we went with the spray is because fire officials and forestry guys don't want the extra weight, even though the blanket is only three pounds," Moseley said. "They're going back and forth on it, but there's nothing else out there that can give them this protection at this weight.Shop online for wholesale kitchenware from a large selection of leading brands and shops that deliver to the UK – all in one place. It's not that much more weight to save your life."