An Edmonton-area firefighting company that says it has bulletproof forest fire technology was forced to cool its heels while Jasper burned over a contract dispute with the Alberta government.Rick Solomon, president of Onoway-based Firefox Wildfire Inc., insists his innovative Alberta-made ‘Barricade Gel’ made from local-grown canola, could have saved Jasper — all of it — but wasn’t given the chance after failing to reach contract terms with the Alberta Wildfire department stemming from last year’s disastrous season.In an exclusive interview with The Western Standard, Solomon said his company is the only one that has ever put out a Category 5 blaze in B.C. like the one that devastated Jasper, in less than two days..Not only does he claim that he could’ve put the Jasper blaze completely out in a similar amount of time, Solomon said his technology could have co-ordinated a massive aerial controlled burn that would have prevented it in the first place.“Well, right now we're banging our head against the wall, watching, watching,” he said. “I'm sure you've heard of the old boys club?”“And that's what they tell me… Oh, don't worry about Jasper, it's insured. Don't worry about the people or the old folks that lost their home. It's insured. They'll rebuild. That's what they told us at the meeting. And we have that on tape, but it's pathetic Shaun, really. It is.”.His company had previously been called in to assist in Kelowna in 2003 and again at Tyaughton in 2009. He’s had calls for demonstrations in Mexico and has been called to help in California.Firefox’s patented ‘Barricade’ fire blocking gel is unique because it uses canola mixed with a water based polymer manufactured by Dow Chemical in Fort Saskatchewan to not only extinguish fires, but stop it in its tracks.It’s been approved by the US Forest Service and can be used in single engine air tankers, bucket helicopters and even by firefighters on the ground using fire engines. Not only can it be sprayed from the air, it can be preventatively applied to buildings and infrastructure.And it breaks back down to water in less than 28 days. Solomon says it’s much safer for the environment than chemical retardants and can be manufactured in Alberta at a fraction of the cost. During demos, he coats his finger with it and sets it on fire using a Zippo.“It’s basically snot,” he says. “If the tree’s on fire, it puts it out. And if you put it on a tree, it won't. When the fire comes, it just puts the fire out because it has no fuel, it takes away the fuel and everything else.”Main sticking points in the contract dispute with the Alberta government are overtime wages and manufacturing costs. Solomon says Alberta Wildfire essentially wants him to bear all the upfront costs without any guarantee of longer term compensation. “I'm not going to put out $10 million and neither is my bank to finance the Alberta government that spends a billion dollars a year and can't put out a campfire,” he said.“We can fill air tankers right on a highway. We have all the technology. We've been vetted. I have got, I don't know, probably 20 studies, you know. And they just keep throwing studies at us. And all my equipment is has been vetted. It's all been approved. We're totally approved, but they won't use our technology.”
