Mighty Fire Breaker Non-Toxic Fire-Retardant System
The MJ was asked to the installation and testing of the Mighty Fire Breaker MFB-31 Citrotech®system. The test took place at a Bella Vista Drive estate in Montecito on Wednesday, July 24. This is the first location in our town to install the fire-retardant system.
When I arrived, Steve Conboy, Founder, President and Chief Technologist of Mighty Fire Breaker, LLC and the estate owner [who at the time of this report wished to remain anonymous] greeted me and showed me the system.
With Conboy were two of his five Advisory Board members, Dan Reese a retired CalFire Captain-Paramedic who was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal, and Franklin Otis Carroll, President & Senior Partner of Professional Forest Management, LLC Wildfire Pros. Of interest is the fact that the other three Advisory Board members are retired Fire Chiefs – Jeff Bowman, Peter Brierty,and Jim Thompson.
Central to the fire-retardant system invented by Conboy is its having been proven to work effectively to stop the spread of fire, and its non-toxic certifications. Conboy shared, “It’s the only EPA U.S.Safer Choice certified fire-retardant chemistry in the world and I received the EPA Partner of the Year 2023. It is UL GreenGuard Gold™ certified by Underwriter Laboratories, and deemed Non-Toxic and Non-Hazardous, having recently passed California Aquatic Bioassay Testing and 90 Day Trout Toxicity Testing by independent testing laboratories. We 100% comply with the Clean Water Act, and our system conserves water use for fire containment. It is safe when used around humans, animals, and the environment, based on ingredients deemed to be safe by the USDA, EPA, and ECHA (European Chemicals Agency). We are the most environmentally friendly fire inhibitor on the planet.”
Conboy’s efforts, research and passion for all human and environmental safety are founded on, “the fact that his father died from exposure to chemicals that his father was told were safe while serving in the Navy.” Conboy’s background includes working in the building and lumber industries for 45 years, and fire science and mold the last 16 years to invent the MFB-31 fire inhibitor. He has patents on the non-toxic fire-retardant and the equipment used to apply it, was awarded Connect in San Diego and the Edison in Chicago; assigned to the District Export Council Division of the U.S. Department of Trade and Commerce and the International Trade Association; spoken twice at the United Nations and World Trade Conference on carbon sequestration; wrote a Carbon Tax Credit Bill for fire treated lumber and a Wildfire Defense Act that would reward property owners who implement his proactive, GPStracked wildfire defense program.
His system is now being used by the San Diego Fire Department and soon to be installed at Carmel’s “The Preserves,” a private estate and conservation community.
The Bella Vista Drive estate owner explained his decision, “I’ve done my homework. Ninety percent of my objective is to save my house and my property from being devastated by fire. Montecito Fire District Wildfire Captain Maeve Juarez has been here many times, she’s amazing, incredibly helpful to give me ideas for fire preventative measures all of which I have implemented. This MFB-31 system is what I am going to be relying on, rather than the vent guards and foam systems by Fierce Fire L.A. I put in.
“I chose Conboy’s system for my property based on its EPA certification, and a fire-retardant demonstration he did, very impressive. It works! I have a dozen friends in Montecito to whom I am introducing to this product, to help save their homes and help with their fire insurance. If everyone on Bella Vista installs the system, together we would cover this upper area of Montecito and prevent any future wildfires up here from reaching close to town. The insurance company is definitely responding to my installation of this system. My rates have been cut by 60 percent since I moved in two years ago.”
Conboy and his team showed me the system – a tank with the fire retardant, and strategically placed sprinklers to dispense it. Cogent points they made were:
– The Mighty Fire Breaker MFB-31 Citrotech® certified system includes installing a custom sprinkler system with sprinklers above and below the ground and tanks with the chemical retardant. The sprinklers are placed strategically around the property and its grounds to create a moat and dome of defensible space.The residential owner can turn the system on via a smart phone from anywhere around the globe, or by us remotely if the homeowner asks us to. The system shuts off automatically when all the retardant from the tanks is completely dispensed. The system uses no water from the house or the city, just the power [electricity] to activate it. The company comes out on a scheduled basis to check the system and sprinkler heads using a tank of water we bring.
– The chemistry is food grade; it is the same as what is used in wine for example. The product will cling with high humidity fog, but we don’t want it to adhere to the point that it withstands actual rainfall because that would smother the plants’ ability to breath. Our chemistry supports root growth in arid conditions. The fire-retardant will continue to protect the treated areas for months, as long as it is not washed off by a serious rainstorm or water from fire hoses. In that case, it can be reapplied.
– It is being used by California wine makers around the grape vines, and there is a Winery Wildfire Elimination Kit. Vineyard managers can use our chemistry on dry vegetation, dry wood barns, and fencing to defend their property.
– The company has a strict training program for General Contractors interested in utilizing our system in their projects. The chemistry has a mold/mildew protection component that helps in wet housing construction environments.
– The MFB-31 Citrotech®can be deployed via a mobile backpack spray-atomizing system, stationary home and property sprinkler system, and other spraying equipment, such as Spray Atomizing Cannons, and Mobile Spray Tankers.
– San Diego Fire Department is using MFB-31 Citrotech®now. The product is endorsed by Fire Chiefs and Fire Marshalls in the U.S., who are happy to use this non-toxic product, versus the AFFF firefighting foam which has been proven to be carcinogenic.
– Mighty Fire Breaker believes in Nature Carbon Sequestering Science and donate regularly to the planting of trees.
– They are presently undergoing the testing regimen now for approval by the U.S. Forest Service Quality Product List. The non-toxic EPA certified fire-retardant has been recommend to be used instead of the Phos-Chek fire retardants by fire fighters which causes exposure to chemicals for them and where it is sprayed. In 2023, a lawsuit was filed and won by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) against the United States Forest Service for allowing the use of Phos-Chek fire to be sprayed over a stream as it violated the Clean Water Act.
– Save ‘Cali’ is the goal, to beat the fires before they get there with the MFB-31 Citrotech®system. They are aimed at delivering safe and effective solutions that will contribute to the preservation of the planet for future generations.
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