Testimonials for Barricade®II Fire Retardant Gel

 

Jack's Testimonial:

BARRICADE FIRE GEL SAVES MY HOME AT ANDREW FIRE

I have a dramatic story to tell. It’s about an innovative technology that not only saved my own home from being destroyed by fire, but will also completely change the face of firefighting as we know it today.

A few years ago, I had purchased a fire protection gel made by Barricade International, a Florida firm. Thankfully, I had their home fire protection kit in the garage of my South Reno home when the disastrous Andrew fire broke out on August 25th, 2004. This was the fifth successive year of drought for the region, and the brush and cheat grass was tinder dry.

Our home is located on 11 acres of countryside property. My son spotted the smoke and we were the first ones at the scene of the fire, just as the first fire trucks arrived. Winds of 40 mph were gusting in every direction. My son and I raced home to our house, 2 ½ miles away. Needless to say, we didn’t observe the speed limit on 395, but nonetheless, by the time we pulled into the driveway, the flames were already licking the top of the hillside above our home.

I quickly broke out the Barricade, and I will tell you the truth, my hands were shaking. Nonetheless, my fifteen year old son and I were able to get the gallon jugs attached to garden hoses and we began to spray down the home. I started on the propane tank, while my son hit the side of the house nearest the flames.

While I was spraying the tank, I heard two explosions in rapid succession to the west of us. One neighbor’s propane tank had blown, and a car’s gasoline tank had exploded. Those two homes were lost to the flames. As I looked in that direction, I saw a photographer snapping my photo! He was from the Reno Gazette Journal, and had happened upon the scene of my son and me protecting our home. He took several more photos -including one of my son getting our pets into the Jeep, which he drove to a safe location across the street. A creek that runs on our property, our horse corral and the paved street provided effective barriers to the fire.

Spraying down the home,while Chris was gathering the pets into the Jeep. It took about 30 minutes for the two of us to get the home covered. The Barricade coated all sides of the house, including the windows and the eaves.

Then the winds shifted. The flames came racing in, driven by the 45 mph gusts. I attached three garden hoses together and went out into the brush that surrounds our house. It’s mainly sage brush and cheat grass, and the flames were moving fast. Thick smoke made it hard to breath. I laid a line of Barricade down in a trench I’d had dug the prior year to divert rain and snow runoff away from the back of the house. The winds continued to blow and the fierce brush fire exploded down the hillside.

When it reached the line of Barricade, it stopped cold! The winds fanned the flames to the West of us and over past the neighbors’ homes, but the fire never made it past the Barricade gel I had laid down in the dried-out brush.

Photos showing where the flames were stopped!

The photographs I took afterwards show the dramatic power of the Barricade to stop the flames – a clear line of demarcation showing where the fire’s advance was halted. The flames came within 50 feet of the house. I don’t believe I’ve ever had so clear a demonstration of the effectiveness of the technology behind a product. Nor a more timely one!

Needless to say, our whole family breathed a sigh of relief. My wife, who had been stopped from getting to the house by the closure of the highway, anxiously watched the flames and smoke advance across the hillsides from her vantage point up the Mt. Rose Highway. She had no idea whether our home would survive or not. I had considered evacuating as the flames advanced, but watching how the Barricade stopped the flames in their tracks, and with the safety of the creek and our corral just yards away, I decided to stay put.

Scenes from the fire:

A neighbor’s home burns to the ground

Chris gathering the pets into the Jeep 

A van engulfed in flames

By the time the Andrew fire was finally put out, it had burned 2,744 acres and destroyed six homes. At its height, it was attacked by 555 firefighters and an aerial assault from 14 tankers and seven helicopters. A state of emergency was declared in the County.

It turns out the fire was sparked by a man who was target shooting along a dirt road off Washoe Valley’s East Lake Boulevard. According to the Reno Fire Department, a steel-jacketed bullet ricocheted off a rock, and the resulting sparks started the blaze. The shooter, a visitor to the area, was in a legal area for firearms, so there were no fines or penalties assessed.

A story in the Reno Gazette Journal after the danger had passed quoted Reno Fire Marshal Larry Farr saying he recommends that people who live near wildlands purchase some kind of fire retardant to protect their homes. If he lived there, “there would be no doubt in my mind,” he said.

For years, fire officials have preached to homeowners about clearing defensive space. But Farr and Marty Scheuerman, Reno fire operations chief, said keeping a fire retardant on hand is also a good idea. “There’s not enough fire trucks to go to every house,” Farr said. “People have to start thinking about protecting themselves. I haven’t heard any real negatives. Sierra Pacific Power Co. gelled some of their power poles in advance of the fire.”

Needless to say, I am firmly and fully behind this technology. It’s important to note that Barricade has made a great technology breakthrough in a new version with not only improved firefighting qualities, but is also totally and completely toxic-free. It is the only fire suppression gel that can make this claim, as all other competitors leave behind vast amounts of petroleum distillates and the hormone disrupters known as NPE’s. Several environmental groups and bodies are paying close attention to this issue, both nationally and internationally.  The State of Nevada and the entire Lake Tahoe Basin are obviously key endangered areas.

I hope you will review the enclosed materials carefully. They tell a compelling story of the invaluable work accomplished by John Bartlett, inventor and developer of Barricade. He is in fact a fireman himself, a Captain with the Palm Beach County fire-rescue department. This technology will save many lives and prevent the catastrophic property losses and loss of life that occurred this last year. We trust you will have a safe fire season, hopefully with Barricade at your side.

Sheryl's Testimonial

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you aboutmy experience using Barricade fire gel.

There has been no cell or phone service in my neck of the woods for about 10 days which was really scary for my family when I was up at my ranch getting ready for the fire that started on the 20th of Aug., 2015.

Luckily, I had just gotten off work at 1 pm and a close friend called to tell me that a fire had started about 5 miles from my house. I headed for home immediately and saw that the fire was surrounding homes on each side of the road. My neighbors were cutting fire lines with bulldozers and the fire was not raging out of control at that point. I reached my home and realized that the wind was really beginning to
increase....that the fire would be bearing down on my place...and that I needed to begin the process of "Barricading" my home.

I climbed up my ladder to the second story, attached the hose to the ductor/nozzle system which went into the gallon of Barricade. All of my gallons of Barricade had been placed earlier at locations I knew I would need to protect……DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE TO USE IT.

I opened up the shutoff on my hose and I was in full fire-fighting mode.....I forgot about everything else....including the wind which was ripping right along. I wasn't sure how much or how thick the Barricade should be applied... (I think I also forgot about the Home Kit instructional video that I had watched at least twice) When I turned into the wind, I was gelled thoroughly in the face, my glasses were useless, and my hands were now useless as well for tightening the fittings on the gallon jug. When you said, "Be really careful, it's really slippery!” you were NOT kidding!!!! I scraped off my glasses, wiped my hands all over my clothes and just kept on applying the Barricade as best as I could. I wasn't sure that I had put it on correctly.

I proceeded to apply the Barricade gel to each section of my roof, under the eaves, walls, windows, and doors of my entire house...then my decks and finally the undersides of my decks and the logs supporting them. I didn't want to spray the gel directly onto my generator because it was still running and I didn't think it would be good for the electronics. So, I sprayed the gel onto a 6'x8' plastic tarp and covered the generator with it.

The fire was progressing towards me, but not as rapidly as I first thought. Each day I would lightly mist my house again, and the Barricade would rejuvenate to the 'slicker-than-snot' quality as the first day I applied it. Five days later, the Barricade gel would still be protecting my home.

I had to evacuate Wednesday evening. The fire did indeed ravage the neighborhood....when I got back to my home, everything was melted....except for the new generator with the Barricade-covered tarp on it, my flowers that were caught in the over-spray .........and, most importantly, my home was saved! It was not even scorched the tiniest bit! A neighbor told me that when he went past my house that it was completely engulfed in flames up to the eaves!

Big 8"x12" timbers were reduced to ash, wood piles, picnic tables, and pasture fences vanished as well as a 3500w generator, many irrigation hoses/fittings/cam-locks, tools, radial arm saw, building materials, a horse trailer and a hot tub. If it wasn't metal or didn't have Barricade on it, it was vaporized. My 8' tall water storage tanks are now wading pools and my 2 electric pumps were burned up as well.

I am just so thankful to God and to the Barricade company for producing such a fantastic product that truly works as it claims. And my deepest appreciation for the very prompt delivery of the 3 House Kits I ordered. My house is two-story and approximately 2,500 sq. ft. and I used 10 gallons of Barricade in protecting my home. I have made sure that everyone that I meet knows that I purchased the Barricade in July....just in case that the fire departments were really busy and couldn't get to my home ...I had a fighting chance of surviving.

So very grateful to all, I am
Sheryl,
Tunk Valley/Okanogan Complex Fire survivor/Barricade user Okanogan, WA 98840

Sheryl’s home (under construction) in Okanogan, WA- This picture was taken right after the Barricade® fire gel had been applied. Note the gel on the windows and the 1500 gallon water tanks. The fire hit her house five days after the application.