When a fire breaks out on board, seconds count, and Fire Suppression Industries, a Chicago-based company, makes the Suppressall FS2-Max Fire Suppression Tool to help keep fishermen from having to get into a life raft.

Early on and before Suppressall, “There was a scallop boat out of New Bedford,” says Company Partner Joe Kuesis. “They had a hydraulic line break in the engine room, and it got into the turbo, and suddenly, you had a blowtorch down there. They had an aerosol generator on board, and they made quick use of it. They tossed it down there, and within minutes, the fire was out. They loved it. They were fishing again the next day.”

As Kuesis explains, the Suppressall, FS2-Max is an aerosol-based flame suppression unit that utilizes a special process to put out fires. “It doesn’t remove oxygen like carbon dioxide. It replaces the oxygen molecule with potassium, and if you have an area smaller than the size of a two-car garage, it’ll fully suppress the fire in less than a minute and remove up to 1,000°F.”

Fire Suppression Industries is a Phoenix that rose from the ashes of a company that succumbed to Covid-related supply chain issues. “Now we make everything in the U.S.A.,” says Kuesis. “We started in 2024 with the FS2 and came out with the FS2-Max earlier this year, and we control everything. If I need metal for parts, I can drive down the street and get it.”

The FS2-Max weighs 15 pounds and can be mounted with a bracket or kept in a case. “There are two pins, and you have to pull them out in order,” says Kuesis. “The first unlocks the igniter, then the second one activates the igniter. Then you have eight seconds to throw it.” According to Kuesis, once the igniter is activated, there is a thermo-reaction inside the unit that turns the solid blocks of aerosol into a cloud of suppressant. Inside the chamber, solid blocks of potassium salts and other ingredients are burning.

“The unit is specially designed with safety in mind. The heat of this reaction stays inside, and everything else that the unit expels is a fire suppressant,” he says. “It is the safest product of its type in the world.”

According to Kuesis, the FS2-Max always works. “When somebody needs this, it has to work,” he says. “The only thing that can go wrong is if you pull the pins out wrong. We have it in all our literature and videos, and we train people, but we’ve had people panic and pull the number 2 pin right off.”

Kuesis has total confidence in the FS2-Max’s effectiveness. “There are several classes of fire, combustibles, gases and liquids, electric, and others. I went to do training at a place in Seattle called the Fire Dragon, and they wanted to do four demonstrations on gas and liquid. I told them we could put them all out in less than one minute combined. Our unit eventually put out all the fires in 45 seconds.”

Kuesis notes that the FS2-Max battery is guaranteed for 10 years, and the unit itself has a 15-year shelf life, meaning it should be replaced every 15 years. “It’s a powder-coated shell and stainless steel hardware, so it’s not going to rust,” he says, adding that the FS2-Max costs less than $1,000 and he’s taking orders.

“All the big boats in the Pacific Northwest have them or their previous models. And they’re getting more popular on the East Coast.”