Barricade Fire Gel Earns EPA 'Champion' Award

RJ Note: Great observation skills of used diapers lead to environmentally friendly fire gel. What a cool idea. And to think, I never noticed that while I was changing all those diapers.

/PRNewswire/ -- A revolutionary fire blocking gel developed by a veteran Florida firefighter has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its environmentally friendly formula through the use of safer surfactants and for its efforts in documenting a strategy for ensuring that only safer surfactants are used.

Barricade Fire Gel was invented by Palm Beach County firefighter John Bartlett after he observed that a disposable baby diaper did not burn during a routine trash fire. The water-absorbing polymers used in diapers are like those now used in Barricade Fire Gel. While Barricade has been credited with saving thousands of homes and businesses, Bartlett and his chemists worked for more than a decade to perfect this current formulation. The company now manufactures the only liquid fire gel approved for use by the U.S. Forest Service that is completely free of the hazardous surfactant known as nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE), which scientific studies have shown can have long-term toxic effects on fresh- and salt-water fish and other wildlife.

Barricade, based in Hobe Sound, Fla., is the only fire gel to receive a "Champion" designation, the highest level of recognition from the EPA as part of its Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative. "Safer surfactants break down quickly to nonpolluting compounds and help protect aquatic life in both fresh and salt water," said EPA Administrator Steve Johnson at the award ceremony in Washington, D.C. "By removing surfactants from their products, these SDSI Champions are improving their environmental footprints, satisfying consumer demand for safer products and contributing to cleaner, better protected waterways."

"NPEs and other problematic detergent chemicals are worthy of our attention and concern," said James Gulliford, assistant administrator of the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. "NPEs are toxic to aquatic life, and as they break down in the environment they become even more toxic."

"This Champion Award is important because it validates that a firefighting chemical can be both more effective and earth-friendly at the same time," said Bartlett. "I appreciate EPA's recognition in designating our fire gel as an environmentally preferable product. This distinction will empower Barricade to save many more homes and businesses from destruction in wildfires while enabling my brother and sister firefighters to accomplish their important mission in a safer and more environmentally responsible manner."

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ESGR Seeks Freedom Award Nominees

The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is seeking employers with records of stellar support for military employees.

The group is accepting nominations for the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards through Jan. 21.

"Almost one-half of the U.S. military is comprised of the National Guard and Reserve," said Beth Sherman, an ESGR spokeswoman. "The Department of Defense shares these citizen warriors with their civilian employers, many of whom provide significant support to (these) employees."

Past recipients of the award have provided full salary, a continuation of benefits, care packages and other forms of help such as home and lawn care for families of employees fulfilling military obligations.

"While all employer support is exemplary, small employers that go above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to assist their employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve, really set the bar high (last year)," Sherman said.

USERRA prohibits discrimination against people because of military service.

Augustine and Sons, a family-owned farm in Iowa, is one example of a small business that goes out of its way for its employees, Sherman said.

When one of its employees, 1st Sgt. Matthew Strasser, an Iowa Army National Guardsman, was deployed, the farm lost half its staff. Yet the Augustine family offered its continuing support to the family Strasser left behind.

"They allowed Strasser's wife and ... two sons to live on the farm rent-free," Sherman said. "The Augustines took the boys fishing, attended their sports games and fixed their dirt bikes."

Large businesses previously recognized for their exemplary support include Sears and Starbucks. The commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Tennessee both are past recipients of the public-sector award.

ESGR is encouraging National Guardsmen, reservists and their family members to nominate employers who offer their employees similar support. Nomination forms are available on the committee's Web site, www.esgr.org.

Last year, 1,119 nominations were received. To date, ESGR has received 268 already this year.

"Given that employer support is so strong, we hope reserve-component members will see fit to nominate their deserving employers," Sherman said. "This kind of recognition establishes a benchmark for all employers, and we hope this recognition is a small thank you from the Department of Defense."

Winners selected in three categories will be announced in early spring and will receive their awards during a Sept. 18 award ceremony.

Founded in 1972, the National Committee for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve is a Defense Department agency established to promote cooperation and understanding between reserve-component members and their civilian employers. The organization also is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Then-Defense Secretary William Perry instituted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 1996.

Related Sites: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act America Supports You