There may be a way to help extinguish the fear of fire for the residential construction industry.

No-Burn Canada, a company based in Sherwood Park, east of Edmonton, is in the midst of rolling out a line of fire retardants that are designed to be non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and environmentally friendly.

The products have been called a "silent fireman" for their ability to render a vast array of materials almost impervious to fire.

"Our whole society is reactive to fire - smoke detectors, sprinklers systems and alarms systems - and those all work if you have a big enough fire to set them off," says company president Mark Harrison. "This concept (No-Burn) is to stop the fire before it even starts."

Photos by Jack Dagley, Business Edge
No-Burn Canada president Mark Harrison, a firefighter, watches material not treated by the firm's fire guard catch fire,above, while he fails to ignite material with the product applied.

The company swept the Edmonton Region Home Builders' Association's SAM (sales and marketing) awards' innovation section in mid-March.

Its proactive fire suppression system took the honours for best new industry concept, while its fire retardants won in the best new product category.

No-Burn's main product, Wood Gard, is applied during the framing of a structure and stops combustion in the framed material.

On multi-family projects, such as condominiums, it is sprayed on as each floor is erected. On a single-family home, it is applied after the roof, shingles, doors and windows are in place.



Wood Gard Mih adds a mould inhibitor into the mix, and Harrison believes it has a strong future in areas such as Vancouver and Victoria where the moisture content is much higher than in Alberta.

No-Burn Plus, meanwhile, is a latex-based paint primer with fire-inhibiting properties.

The primer goes over the drywall. Should a fire reach a No-Burn Plus-treated wall, it will stop or slow it by foaming up and creating a char barrier to prevent the flames from reaching the wooden frame behind it.

Other No-Burn offerings include Fire Fabric Gard to treat carpeting, couches, chairs, drapery and mattresses; and Christmas Tree Fire Gard.

No Burn Original, meanwhile, can be used for exterior cedar shakes and decking material as long as a sealer is also applied. Otherwise, the product will be diluted by the effects of rain or snow.

"The main goal we're trying to achieve is to give families more time to get out of the building, that's the most important thing," says Harrison, a veteran full-time firefighter in Strathcona County.

"Because our product reduces smoke by up to 80 per cent, it allows them to get out safely. Secondly, it allows the fire department more time to get to the scene so when they get there the fire isn't as large. Thirdly, because of both of those first two things, it reduces the amount of damage."

Harrison and his team have showcased their work and No-Burn's fire-fighting capabilities on the ABC-TV hit renovation show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

He and his crew travelled to Washington state where No-Burn was used to treat and protect a fireplace chimney and the Fabric Fire Gard was applied on the home's furniture, carpeting, throw rugs and pillows, and mattresses. The episode originally aired in February.

An example of No-Burn's ability to stop combustion in the framed structure occurred in Edmonton late last year at a Carrington multifamily development.

"A string of construction lights were pulled tight against some two-by-four studs in a hallway and the heat from the lightbulbs started the wood on fire," says Harrison. "It burned halfway through the (No-Burn treated) wood and you could see where the flames had tried to climb up the stud and the No-Burn bubbled up, created its barrier and stopped the fire from going anywhere.

"It put out the fire. It did not allow it to progress. Carrington is convinced that without it, they would have had a fire."

Carrington was very excited and cautiously optimistic when it first found out about No-Burn, according to Jarret Sheath, project manager for Carrington Construction.

"I believe we were the first multifamily builder and complex to go with the product (in Canada), but we're already looking at using their products on upcoming projects as well," says Sheath.

"We had multiple levels of management look into the product and we had them (No-Burn) do a controlled burn, because seeing is believing. Ultimately we were impressed and we were confident enough to go ahead."

Harrison, who initially secured No-Burn's Canadian rights for Edmonton and Medicine Hat and now has acquired the rights for across the country, hopes to open a No-Burn office in Kelowna within the next two months. He expects to be up and running in Toronto by the end of the summer.

Harrison got into the business in part because of his career as a firefighter and in part by chance.

He was on a family vacation in Kelowna a few years back when he saw a magazine ad for No-Burn.

Even though he was a full-time firefighter, "I had been looking (for something else)," he recalls.

"We work a four-day-on, four-day-off rotation, so there's a lot of time to get in trouble unless you want to do something constructive with your time."

It was No-Burn's core concept that caught Harrison's attention: The ability to be proactive and stop a fire rather than simply being reactive.

While No-Burn Canada currently doesn't manufacture any material in this country - product is sourced from the U.S. - one of Harrison's goals is to eventually make the materials in Canada.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)