Just think of it as a grenade in reverse — when you throw the Elide Fire Ball into the flames, it creates an explosion that actually puts out a fire. Crazy? A little. Awesome? Absolutely. While the Elide may seem like something of a magic prop, in reality, it’s much more — this unique little fireball could replace heavy, clunky, inefficient fire extinguishers altogether, giving us a brand new way to fight the blazes.
Weighing in at just three pounds and smaller than a soccer ball, the Elide packs a pretty powerful punch. Its secret lies in its extinguishing powder mixture, which self-detonates when it comes in contact with extreme heat (read: fires). Within three seconds, the Elide team says, the ball will “effectively disperse extinguishing chemicals,” dealing with the issue so you and (hopefully) the fire department don’t have to.
And if you’re not around to throw the ball into the fire itself, that’s no problem either. As the Elide team notes on its website, “When a fire occurs and no one is present, Fire Extinguishing Ball will self-activate when it comes into contact with fire and give a loud noise as a fire alarm. Because of this feature, it can be placed in may fire prone area such as above electrical circuit breaker or in a kitchen.”
The almost laughably easy operation of the fireball means that you need no special training or skills to make use of the device, and better still, during the five-year shelf life of the Elide, you won’t need to inspect or maintain the ball in any way.
All that said, however, the Elide isn’t exactly the most practical of devices when it comes to putting out a dangerous blaze. The demonstrations show the ball’s effectiveness in putting out a box of fire, but … that’s not exactly how most fires go. So if you’re looking for a flashy trick, have at the Elide. But it probably shouldn’t be the only device you depend upon in the case of a fire.
