POCKET FIRE EXTINGUISHER

TitlePOCKET FIRE EXTINGUISHER
BrandCITY OF LAS PINAS
Product / ServiceCITY OF LAS PINAS FIRE PREVENTION MONTH
CategoryA04. Use of Ambient Media: Small Scale
EntrantDDB/DM9JAYMESYFU/DIGIT Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Entrant Company DDB/DM9JAYMESYFU/DIGIT Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Advertising Agency DDB/DM9JAYMESYFU/DIGIT Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES

Credits

Name Company Position
Merlee Jayme DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Chief Creative Officer
Eugene Demata DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Executive Creative Director
Aste Gutierrez DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Associate Creative Director/Copywriter
Biboy Royong DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Art Director
Peepo David DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Copywriter
Rachel Teotico DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Copywriter
Ronald Barreiro DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit General Manager/Account Supervisor
Alex Syfu DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Chief Relations Officer/Account Supervisor
Gella Valle DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Account Manager
Sheila Villanueva DDB Dm9jaymesyfu/Digit Producer
Rolando Olor Filmex Designer
Jofre Nachor Filmex Videographer
Carlo Perlas Tower Of Doom Producer
Melo Samson Tower Of Doom Editor

Results and Effectiveness

With its success in Las Pinas, other cities have already inquired about the Pocket Fire Extinguisher. To date, there have been demonstrations in several municipalities in Makati. Tests are currently ongoing with the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs to ensure that in its current state the solution is safe for prolonged storage. Once these tests are through, we will be mass producing the Pocket Fire Extinguisher for deployment in other cities. A slightly larger 45 ml sachet and a bottle 100 ml version are already in the works.

Creative Execution

With a little research, we discovered that vinegar(acetic acid) and baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) had long been used in DIY fire extinguisher projects. The sodium bicarbonate reacts with the acid, expanding the solution. Placed in a container, one can direct a stream of quickly expanding liquid with a small opening. So we decided to prepackage this mixture in sachets for it to be portable and readily available. By enclosing the baking soda in a plastic canister it would sit harmlessly in a sachet of vinegar. When needed, one need only crack the plastic canister and tear the pre-cut tab. The Pocket Fire Extinguisher offered the poor residents of Las Pinas the perfect solution. It was small, cheap and capable of extinguishing small fires.With it they can protect not only their loved ones and property, but even the entire community.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

In the City of Las Pinas, as with many other urban areas in the Philippines, some of the biggest fires occur in the slums. Here, the houses are densely packed and the poor families who occupy them simply cannot afford costly fire extinguishers. Such homes also lack their own sources of water. Residents have to go to a communal tap or well for their daily needs. Hence, huge urban blazes are commonly caused by the smallest things, like an untended candle. A recent study by fire protection agencies revealed that 80% of such blazes could have been avoided if only they had been extinguished within the first few minutes. For Fire Prevention Month, Las Pinas was looking for an alternative to costly fire extinguishers. Something that could not only fit the shanty homes of the less fortunate, but their budget as well.