The U.S. market for fire extinguishers is estimated at $1.3 billion in 2021, with the U.S. holding a 27.9% share of the global market, according to research released last week from Global Industry Analysts. Another firm, Transparency Market Research, notes that “certain manufacturers and players in the global fire extinguisher market are introducing new types of products that do not release toxic chemicals when used. Introduction of these …fire extinguishers is expected to create lucrative opportunities.”
One such company, Italy’s Element, entered the North American market five years ago, and has now launched its first consumer ad campaign, “Putting Fires Out of Business.” The centerpiece of the campaign, created by Toronto’s The Local Collective, is a twist on the sexy fireman calendar, this time featuring a bunch of unsexy, bored firefighters who’ve been rendered unnecessary by Element’s own fire fighters.
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The 2022 “Bored Fireman Calendar” is being promoted through paid social media, email marketing, and appearances on local TV morning shows.
The target audience? “Anyone who owns a car, boat, camps, BBQ's or cooks… people who would be entertaining this holiday season or looking for the perfect gift for the hard-to-shop-for BBQer in your life,” Local Collective founder and chief creative officer Matt Litzinger told Marketing Daily.
Element’s fire extinguishers, which have previously been marketed largely to the racing and car enthusiast community (the brand was featured on “Jay Leno’s Garage,” for example), are said to be 80% smaller and 1/10th lighter than traditional fire extinguishers. Perhaps most significantly, the brand says, they don’t need servicing, never expire and make no mess.
Unlike traditional fire extinguishers that use compressed gas carrying powder or liquid, Element’s fire extinguishers discharge a gas that’s the by-product of a chemical reaction. “This gas attaches itself to oxygen molecules and prevents them from sticking to the chain of combustion, thereby robbing the fire of oxygen,” explained Robert Calisi, owner of Element. “This ‘treated oxygen’ is safe to breathe.”
Element Fire Extinguishers are sold directly to consumers at elementfire.com and also available from specialist retailers, primarily in the automotive and powersports field. The extinguisher comes in two models: $79.95 for 50 seconds of use, and $119.95 for 100 seconds.
The calendar costs $9.95 and is only available online.
Element said it will donate a percentage of sales from each fire extinguisher sold during the holiday season tothe National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Association.
Other personal fire extinguisher brands include Amerex, First Alert, AFO and Kidde.