![]() If that isn’t bad enough, at high temperatures, CTC can produce phosgene gas, a chemical weapon used during World War I. Chronic exposure to carbon tetrachloride can cause liver and kidney damage and could result in cancer. Exposure to vapors of CTC can affect the central nervous system and degenerate the liver, and kidneys, and prolonged exposure may even lead to coma or death. Unfortunately, carbon tetrachloride is extremely toxic to humans. The gaseous carbon tetrachloride is heavier than air so it sinks and helps smother the flames. ![]() Starting from around 1900, fire grenade manufacturers began using a different fire suppressant-carbon tetrachloride, or CTC, which is liquid at room temperature but when heated to about 76 degree centigrade becomes a gas. Heated ammonium chloride produces fumes that should help to suppress the fire, at least in theory. After the 19th century, the fancy blown glass began to disappear and a more industrial design prevailed, with smooth, frosted or clear glass.Įarly fire grenades contained salt water mixed with ammonium chloride. Sometimes the glass containers were uncolored but the water they contained was colored blue or red with coloring agents. The earliest types were hand-blown, etched with decorative patterns and often colored. The fire grenade first appeared in the 1870s. Some grenades were fitted with a spring-loaded trigger that dispersed the water like a sprinkler. This kept the water liquid even in severe winter. Salt water was chosen instead of plain water because salt water has a lower freezing point. The glass bulb shattered on contact and the water contained inside helped to extinguish the flames. They were kept in wall-mounted metal brackets in Victorian homes, or any place handy, from where they could be quickly grabbed and thrown at the base of the fire. ![]() ![]() The grenade resembled a regular glass bottle or a modern electric bulb, but larger, and filled with salt water. An early form of fire extinguisher popular in the late 1800s was the fire grenade. ![]()
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