One of history’s great inventions, the fire extinguisher dates back to 1729. And while the invention has evolved since that time, its current incarnation (you know, the bright red can with the black hose) hasn’t changed much in decades. Unfortunately, if a small fire were to start, many homeowners would have to spend precious minutes digging through closets, garages and basements to find their extinguishers.
But Arnell Group believes they have created a solution to this problem with the HomeHero Fire Extinguisher. By redesigning the fire extinguisher for greater visual appeal, the company hopes people will be less likely to bury extinguishers in inconvenient locations. Since it doesn’t stand out quite as prominently as the big red beasts of the past, homeowners can keep it in easily accessible locations without sacrificing home décor. The subtle, low-key design of the HomeHero fire extinguisher makes it ideal for placement on a kitchen countertop or mounting on a wall. To create the HomeHero, the Arnell Group took a page from one of the world’s great innovators. “In my early investigation I studied how Steve Jobs approached the iPod,” said Peter Arnell, founder of the Arnell Group. “If you look at it carefully you realize that it was a masterful job of designing and packaging an exterior to house existing technologies.” So Arnell took the same approach to the traditional crimson extinguishers holed up in houses everywhere. “I took a 100-year-old category without change and redressed the product for the contemporary lifestyle.”
Actually, Arnell did more than simply redesign the traditional fire extinguisher. The HomeHero also incorporates a number of new features that make it easier to use in the event of a fire. With a clean, white-and-gray exterior, the bright red pin is now more highly visibly – and therefore easier for an individual to locate in the event of an emergency. The HomeHero also features a more ergonomic grip area for intuitive operation on the fly. And, perhaps most notably, Arnell’s enhanced extinguisher has done away with the big black hose of traditional extinguishers in favor of an internal nozzle. This means individuals operate the HomeHero more like a handgun than a standard fire extinguisher – gripping it with one hand and pulling the trigger to extinguish flames. Arnell claims the one-handed operation also gives people a free hand to dial 911 as they ward off a small blaze.
While the Arnell Group’s HomeHero concept seems like a good one, it’s hard to believe this small extinguisher could work as effectively as a traditional extinguisher. But, then again, if a traditional extinguisher is hidden away where an individual cannot quickly access it, how effective can it really be? With the HomeHero, Arnell has tapped into a truth that speaks to the too-often-overlooked importance of design: if a device doesn’t look good – no matter how practical it may be – it has a far lesser chance of being used as intended. Aesthetics play a larger role in life than most people would like to admit (especially in the home) and anything that increases the likelihood a product will be used exponentially increases its usefulness. This is especially true of emergency products like fire extinguishers. The bottom line: design matters. And the HomeHero fire extinguisher certainly could make a difference.
The HomeHero Fire Extinguisher is expected to be available at Home Depot soon (though, oddly enough, if you search the words “Home Hero” on the Home Depot site, it automatically takes you to the Home Hero Web site). You can request email notification from HomeHero when the fire extinguisher becomes available (with a expected price of around $25) in stores.
