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Let's Discuss the Design Considerations of Samsung's Throwable Fire Extinguisher

A beautiful vase that saves lives or a metaphor for putting out company flames?

By Emily Engle - April 29, 2019

It's been an interesting couple of weeks for our buddies over at Samsung, to say the least. After giving test units of their much anticipated Galaxy Fold phone to a select group of media (including us), the tech company had to quickly revoke the phones after users began experiencing glitches, mainly caused by peeling off a layer on the phone's screen that wasn't meant to be removed. And by quickly revoke, we mean appearing at our office to physically take the phone away from us. We should have yelled "no take backs!" and ran.

Anyways, we recently came across a fun Samsung product we hoped was made in an attempt to extinguish the metaphorical flames that arose from the Galaxy Fold situation or even the literal flames from the classic Galaxy Note 7. Unfortunately, it was announced very post-Galaxy Note 7 and pre-Galaxy Fold in September 2018. Either way, here's a look at the Samsung Firevase:

Enter a caption (optional)

We have a few questions we're hoping will facilitate a discussion in the comments:

1. Is this thing glass? If so, that sounds dangerous.*

2. Is it a good idea to design discreet fire extinguishers, or should safety devices always have clear safety labels and messaging?

3. It's human nature to try to keep glass objects from breaking, so would unaware visitors or unaware people in the space think to throw a beautiful vase at a fire?

4. Is there a way to design a discreet fire extinguisher where the use case is still made clear?

5. Can whoever made this video DJ our next party? We love the energy.

All jokes aside, it's also important to note that Firevase is not fake—it's very real. In 2018 the company gave out over 100,000 Firevases to its customers and is rumored to have another release date in mind. Would you buy one for your office or home? Why or why not?

*(Editor's note: as one of our readers pointed out in the comments section, Firevase is made of rigid PVC, not glass. Phew!)

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Let's Discuss the Design Considerations of Samsung's Throwable Fire Extinguisher

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G B

a year ago

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Hi, I just joined Core 77, and this is my first comment to the first article I read on here, and I must say I love your questioning.

For your question regarding whether the fire extinguisher should have some kind of instructions on it in case people won't know how to use or activate it, I don't think that the answer to it is instructions. My feeling is that (although I've never used one during a real fire), people wouldn't try to read the instructions on a fire extinguisher, step by step, while there is a fire spreading in their place. You simply try to be as quick as possible, and therefore act intuitively: you pull the pin to be able to activate it, etc. Performing these kind of actions don't require you to learn how to use a fire extinguisher; the user is very well accustomed to performing these actions as they have performed similar ones on different objects or tools. So I believe that the key is to design a fire extinguisher which won't require any instructions to be read. Fire is an emergency, perhaps a time where the user may not be able to cool-headedly think normally, meaning that they shouldn't have to learn about what they have to do.

Of course, this raises an interesting thought. I understand your concern about throwing a glass object; even if you own the place, you may prefer not shattering a glass object into pieces in your house if the fire is not an important threat. But I think that Samsung was trying to do what I just in the previous paragraph. What they created requires a single action: ''throw''. Its interesting that if you were to give instructions to someone, it requires only one syllable to come out of your mouth to stop a very harmful danger.

Wow, this was a wordy response, sorry if its not how things go around here. Again, first comment :)

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- Emily Engle
  
  G B
  
  a year ago
  
  Z
  
  1Z
  
  Reply
  
  Thank you for your thoughtful response and welcome to the Core77 family! :)
  
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Brad Johnson

a year ago

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1Z

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Browse more fire protection on Houzz
This is dumb. Learn to use a fire extinguisher and keep it easily accessible in multiple rooms (I have 3 in my 975 sqft house).

If you don't care for the aesthetic, they are available in chrome or a number of "designer" patterns/styles. You could even do a custom vinyl wrap if desired.

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Brent Ellis

a year ago

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1Z

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I found this concept interesting when it was posted on Yanko Design last month. The video in their article contains English text that cover some of the questions that were posed. Here is the link to the Yanko post:

https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/03/26/this-flower-vase-is-also-a-fire-extinguisher/

1. The bottle is made of rigid PVC according to the video.
2. Discreet and on the counter is better than buried in a cabinet and covered in safety labels.
3. The intent is that the homeowner would be the user of the vase or that the design would be iconic enough that it would be recognizable by others.
4. In my opinion, the text on the bottle of "Firevase" is clear enough to indicate the products use.

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Ross Oliver

a year ago

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My main objection would be water is not suitable for either a grease/oil or electrical fire. All my extinguishers are ABC rated.

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Thomas Le

a year ago

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Interesting concept but what if you miss your target? Or what if the vase doesnt shatter because you didnt throw it hard enough, or the fire is on a soft surface like your couch?

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David Beck

a year ago

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Fire grenades are centuries old, not a new idea, but to answer your questions.

1. Ummmm ...I'll go with, What is safer than a fire for 1000 Alex.
2. So SAMSUNG should be written on it? What does that have to do with fire?
3. What is the likelihood a visitor puts out a fire over the owner? Maybe your question is entirely moot. Maybe your question should be, Teenagers love breaking sh!t, do you think they will smash the extinguisher before a fire?
4. Has been done for centuries, why is it a problem now?

5. Having a fire extinguisher out and on display makes it more accessible, therefore more effective than that ugly Kidde thing buried behind crap in the cabinet under the sink.

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- Robert Wilkey
  
  David Beck
  
  a year ago
  
  Z
  
  1Z
  
  Reply
  
  1. "safer than a fire for 1000, Alex." fair, but something that is frangible under intense heat but doesn't require cleaning thousands of tiny sharp shards would be preferable to shattering a glass vessel, objectively.
  
  2. "So SAMSUNG should be written on it?" ...I'm pretty sure Emily was suggesting that the device should have some type of signage indicating that it's a fire extinguisher and directions for use, not sure what part of what she typed made you think she was concerned about the vase having Samsung branding.
  
  3. "What is the likelihood a visitor puts out a fire over the owner?" I think the point is, everyone knows how to use a contemporary fire extinguisher, or at least everyone understands the purpose. What are the consequences of introducing a new fire extinguisher whose use isn't broadly understood / clearly communicated / somewhat ambiguous?
  
  4. "Has been done for centuries..." Could you provide some examples of discreet fire extinguishers whose use case is still clear that have been around for centuries? I'm no fire extinguisher expert, but I can't think of any examples off of the top of my head...
  
  5. "Having a fire extinguisher out and on display makes it more accessible, therefore more effective..." here I agree with you completely, but I think the crux of the issue is communicating to everyone that "this is a fire extinguisher, here's how you use it" without ruining the aesthetics of the object.
  
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  - David Beck
    
    Robert Wilkey
    
    a year ago
    
    Z
    
    Z
    
    1. Fine. Worry your pretty little head about cleaning up after a fire, something you do anyway.
    2. Read ahead to 5.
    3. Again, answer the question. How many guests are putting out fires? How many guests know where the fire extinguisher is stored in your house?
    4. I don't know if you have heard of this thing. It's called the googles. You type in fire grenade, it gives you everything your blessed heart desires.
    
    5. Again, why does everyone other than the person putting out the fire needs to know anything? Person grabs fire grenade. Guest says, wait a minute? Seriously, wtf?
    
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  - Robert Wilkey
    
    Robert Wilkey
    
    a year ago
    
    Z
    
    1Z
    
    I know what a fire grenade is, but I'd be willing to wager that the percentage of the general population that knows about them is a fraction of a percentage. And I've never seen a fire grenade that has instructions for use. No, I don't think that guests are commonly putting out fires in other people's homes, but fire extinguishers are used in more places than just homes, and its not like people are given classes on how to use them. Hence the labeling including instructions.
    
    I hope none of my comments have sounded argumentative, it's difficult to communicate tone with text, but I'm not up in arms over here, just trying to clarify my points and defend Emily's (in my opinion) logical questions.
    
    To summarize my point, I think saying "well these little glass orb fire grenades were invented back in the 1800s and they work pretty if you know how to use them" isn't a good reason to not critique and try to improve the design of the vase Samsung has presented.
    
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Emily Engle

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Emily is a freelance writer based in NYC with an interest in all things design, specifically the design process. When she's not writing about design, Emily can either be found taking care of her 31 houseplants, going on "nature" walks in her neighborhood or studying Japanese. Before going freelance, Emily was an Editor at Core77.