Time for another of the history articles I write for the Islander. Little did I know it, but this time it was a fortuitous choice of objects. Here we are handling a potentially dangerous object should it slip from our hands and break. This I learned when doing the research for the article. The red glass globe is now safely locked in a cabinet so only your eyes can appreciate it! Do any of my–well, let’s say, more mature readers–remember these?
The Mystery of the Red Glass Globe
Recently, when looking for ideas for a museum history article, I asked for suggestions. One of the volunteers, Vivian Garrett, showed me a curious red glass globe housed in a metal bracket up on one of the shelves. She shared with me that she likes to ask young visitors what they think it is. I had never noticed it and the name on it–Red Comet–piqued my interest even further. And so I dove head-long into the mystery of the red globe.
It’s bright red, glass, about the size of a big grapefruit and has liquid in it and a hint on the partially peeled off label: Red Comet Extinguisher, Littleton, Colorado. So armed with that slim bit of information I started playing detective and searched for information. What I found was surprising, involved door-to-door salesmen, and a potential haz-mat situation. (Don’t worry, the Syracuse Fire Company knows we have one and are VERY careful with it!)
The mysterious Red Comet globe
The Red Comet Manufacturing Company was started way back in 1919 in a home garage just outside of Denver, Colorado. Apparently, the business owner perceived a need for a handy home fire extinguisher system, and after a few years of experimenting with designs, the company offered its first product: the Red Comet. This grenade-like device could work in two ways: mounted in the wire bracket on the wall, if there was a fire the globe could be removed and thrown at the base of the fire, shattering the glass and releasing the liquid to help extinguish the flames; the Red Comet also has a spring-loaded mechanism that when the clip holding the spring back burns off at 160 degrees, it sends a metal rod upwards into the glass where it shatters and spreads the fluid on the fire below (the clip on ours is missing).
The fluid wasn’t just water, but a special fire protection agent called carbon tetrachloride. Carbon tetrachloride is a clear substance (looks like water) but has a “sweet” smell and can be detected at very low levels of concentration. The use of this special agent was banned in 1980 due to environmental and safety hazards. The substance damaged the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys and repeatedly being exposed to this liquid can lead to death. Many firefighters were diagnosed with these problems after fires where there have been large amounts of the firefighting liquid in the buildings. Carbon tetrachloride was great in controlling fires, but it produced smoke which carried all the harmful particles from the substance into the air, and without proper personal protective equipment, such as a self-contained breathing apparatus, it was very easy to be exposed to the chemical. The Red Comet led the way in fire suppression mounting agents and was used to help design the water-based sprinklers that we see today. Although these old extinguishers turned out to be harmful to the health of people in and outside the fire, the ends justified the means, not to mention the mess the broken glass shards made.
Supposedly, when Red Comet began to manufacture the “automatic” style of extinguisher, they substituted the carbon tetrachloride with trichlorotrifluoroethane, which is a little less dangerous to humans than the carbon tetrachloride. The “dangerous to humans” problem with trichlorofluoroethane is that, when released, it eliminates the oxygen from the immediate environment, which can be bad for those of us who need oxygen to live.
So how do door-to-door salesmen figure into the mystery? By 1933 the company had relocated to Littleton, Colorado. After soldiers returned from World War II, everybody was looking for jobs. So Red Comet hired these former military servicemen and sent them door to door across the nation, like the Fuller Brush Man (remember him?), vacuum cleaner salesmen, or encyclopedia representatives. The Red Comets were sold as a set of six or eight in a padded metal box. The salesmen used a lot of testimonials from fire departments and they leaned heavily on “scare” tactics and dramatic photos of uncontrolled fires to sell their line mostly to housewives and automobile repair shops.
The Red Comet Company still exists, but has left the manufacturing of fire extinguishers to companies like Kidde. It now sells brand name portable fire extinguishers, and offers inspections, recharging of fire extinguishers, and training.
Stop in the museum and check out our Red Comet and see if you can find other mysteries that need solving! The Syracuse Museum and Cultural Center’s hours are Tuesday-Thursday from 2-5 pm and by appointment (801-825-3633) and is located on 1700 South (Antelope Drive) just before 2000 West, Syracuse, UT.
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