Red Comet Fire Grenades: The Fiery Fad of Yesteryear

Let’s take a hot minute (pun fully intended) to talk about one of the weirdest yet coolest vintage finds you might stumble across in an old attic, basement, or barn—Red Comet Fire Grenades. 

These relics from the “just wing it” school of fire safety are a glimpse into a bygone era where innovation met wild optimism, and homeowners chucked glass balls at fires like pyromaniac pitchers. Let’s dive into the fascinating history, rise and fall, and why these little orbs are both legendary and obsolete.

The Fiery Origins: A Grenade for Your Home Fires

Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fires were a massive problem. Houses were basically tinderboxes: balloon framed wood construction, kerosene lamps, and no central heating. Enter the Red Comet Manufacturing Company, who, around the early 1900s, started cranking out fire extinguishing grenades.

These weren’t grenades in the Saving Private Ryan sense—there were no explosions. Instead, these were fragile glass spheres filled with fire-retardant liquids. Their idea was simple yet dramatic: see a fire? Smash the grenade on it, and the liquid would douse the flames faster than a bucket of water at a campfire.

The Red Comet fire grenades were marketed as a cutting-edge safety innovation for homeowners and businesses alike. For a while, they were the status symbol of fire preparedness. Because, let’s be honest, if you didn’t have one of these, were you even fire-safe, bro?

Booming Popularity & Crashing Out of Favor

The Red Comet fire grenades peaked in the early-to-mid 20th century when fire extinguishers were bulky, expensive, and generally impractical for the average Joe. Red Comet had an ace up their sleeve—they made fire extinguishing cool and accessible.

These grenades were sold in boxes, mounted on walls, or hung from hooks, ready to be smashed when flames threatened your home-cooked roast or industrial workplace.

So why did they flame out?

1. Inherent risks: Turns out, storing fragile glass orbs filled with toxic liquids wasn’t exactly ideal. Imagine one of these breaking accidentally on your carpet—cue chemical cleanup.
2. Evolving technology: By the mid-20th century, modern fire extinguishers (the pressurized canisters we know today) became more effective, safer, and portable.
3. Safety regulations: Oh, and here’s the kicker: some of the grenades contained carbon tetrachloride (CTC), a chemical later identified as highly toxic and potentially carcinogenic. CTC also produces phosgene gas when exposed to heat, which, fun fact, was used as a chemical weapon in WWI. Not exactly what you want to deploy in your kitchen.

Anatomy of a Red Comet Fire Grenade

So, what exactly made these grenades tick? Let’s break it down:

• The Glass: The grenades were made from thin, hand-blown or machine-pressed glass designed to shatter easily when thrown. Sometimes they were clear; other times, they sported bright red or blue hues—because why not fight fire with a little pizzazz?
• The Liquid: Early models were filled with brine or saltwater, which could smother small fires. That was good, but why not take it up a notch. Later versions switched to the aforementioned carbon tetrachloride, which was highly effective but…you know, toxic.
• Deployment Methods: These bad boys weren’t just for throwing. Some grenades were housed in wall-mounted brackets or spring-loaded mechanisms that would automatically release them if a fire heated the surrounding air to a certain temperature.

Are Fire Grenades Still a Thing?

Fire grenades may have gone the way of horse-drawn carriages, but the concept hasn’t completely disappeared. Today, there are modern iterations that borrow the idea of fire suppression via throwable devices:

• Elide Fire Ball: A 21st-century version of the fire grenade, this foam-filled sphere activates upon contact with fire, releasing a cloud of fire-retardant powder. It’s safer, non-toxic, and actually designed to meet today’s safety standards rather than killing you with toxic gas like its vintage predecessor.
• Automatic Fire Suppression Systems: Similar to the old wall-mounted Red Comets, modern systems deploy fire retardants when triggered by heat or smoke. But instead of shattering glass, they use sprinklers or pressurized mechanisms.

Why Red Comets Are the Coolest Vintage Find

Spotting a Red Comet grenade in an old house is like finding a time capsule from the pre-smoke-alarm era. It’s a quirky relic from a time when homeowners were their own first responders, armed with nothing more than a glass ball and a lot of optimism.

These grenades are collectibles now, popping up in antique shops and auctions. But remember, if you find one, do not test it. Unless your dream is to reenact a vintage safety video while accidentally gassing yourself with WWI-level chemicals.

Final Thoughts

The Red Comet fire grenade represents a glorious, if slightly reckless, chapter in fire safety history. They were born out of ingenuity, thrived on novelty, and met their demise at the hands of progress and better chemistry.

If you find one, treasure it as a piece of history—and maybe keep it in a safe display case, far away from heat sources. At least that’s what I would do!