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Yea or Nay? Non-Red, "Stylish" Fire Extinguishers from Japan

I can't believe this won a Design Award

By Rain Noe - November 12, 2019

in Object Culture

On the face of it, I think this may be the dumbest idea I've seen this year. Japan's Morita Miyata Corporation, which has been making firefighting equipment for over a century, has designed this set of fire extinguishers:

So why aren't they red? Because the designers have opted for "refined monotone colors that harmonize with the interior and softly fit into your daily life." Furthermore, "That it can be placed in full view without any sense of incongruity is the most special feature of the design of this fire extinguisher."

Isn't visual incongruity, not harmony, the entire point of a fire extinguisher's color? If there's a grease fire in the kitchen or an overburdened octopus plug bursts into flame, don't you want to be able to locate the damn thing right away? Below is one of the company's actual press photos, which resembles my vision after I first wake up: How easy do you find it to spot the extinguisher?

And how confident are you that you could quickly locate either of these if a fire broke out?

High visibility for this object was apparently not important to the judges of the Good Design Awards. They gave one to these extinguishers, with what I think is an idiotic evaluation: "There has been a preconceived notion that fire extinguishers must be red in order to grab visual attention," they wrote. (Yes, that's exactly why they're red.) "I feel like we have just accepted fire extinguishers to be red because that is the way they are." Right, and maybe we've also "just accepted" that firefighting foam extinguishes fires because that's what it actually does.

The only thing that prevents me from giving this a resounding "Nay" is this consideration: The designers are attempting to make the object more stylish because "disaster preparedness continues to be removed from everyday life in Japan," according to Spoon + Tamago. In their estimation, the company "designed a minimal set of fire extinguishers to encourage people to keep one in their home."

If the choice is between people refusing to keep fire extinguishers in their homes because they find red ugly, or keeping difficult-to-spot extinguishers in their homes, then I concede that the latter is the better option. However: Shouldn't they at least experiment with other bright colors that pop first, before going Muji monotone?

Also, I have my doubts that the Japanese are not a disaster-prep-minded people. When I first moved there, I discovered that every apartment in my building had a prominent switch on the wall to turn off gas to the entire apartment. I was told you're meant to switch it off every time you leave, so there's no "live gas" running to your apartment in case there's an earthquake. A friend who lived nearby shut his gas off every night, even in the dead of winter, in case there was an overnight earthquake; the first time I crashed there, in the morning I observed his ritual of starting up the water heater while we froze our asses off in the well-chilled home.

Despite that, I cannot remember if people's houses all had fire extinguishers in them or not. Any readers who live in Japan: Can you confirm whether the objects are common or not?

Lastly, whether you live in Japan or not: Yea or Nay to these?

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scott gerard

4 years ago

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When you purchase safety equipment and keep it in plain sight, you know exactly what it is and where it is located. Red extinguishers are so ugly, you hide them. "Out of sight, out of mind". How many people have a kitchen fire and need to react instantly to only find out the old red extinguisher tucked under the kitchen sink lost its pressure years ago... Great!
I bought a beautiful fire extinguisher from www.safe-t.us, the Whisky one. I love it! I see it every day. The pressure is good. I know it. It sits next to my stove. I am not saying a "guest in my house who cooks when I'm not there and start a fire and does not know the Whisky extinguisher is an extinguisher and my house burns down because of it" is not a valid reason to have a red extinguisher. I'll take the risk :)

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John Dolittle

5 years ago

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What's next, hidden emergency exits?

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Jason Ho

5 years ago

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Wasn't there a change in EXIT Signs also previously being red before they changed them to green? (Canada) I disagree with the preconceived notion that extinguishers should be red.

Firetrucks are red so we can AVOID them.
Red has a preconceived notion to STOP us in our tracks, whereas GREEN signifies GO or OKAY TO PROCEED.

I agree that they shouldn't be red.

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yeknommonkey a

5 years ago

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All extinguishers in the UK used to be specific colours, Black for CO2, red for water, white/cream for Foam, blue for powder I think,, they each have different uses and some are dangerous, e.g. water on an electrical fire, hence the need for different properties and the colours to tell them apart. More recently the EU rules have meant all extinguishers must be RED so they can easily be seen in an emergency, but they still retain coloured labels to differentiate what is inside them. I think these black and white ones could be dangerous for use by anyone with a knowledge of this stuff, but I guess they are unlikely to find them anyway ;)

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Nicholas Baker

5 years ago

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I'm curious how many people know where their red fire extinguisher is. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure if mine is under the sink or tucked away behind the fridge. If I had one of these, I could see a scenario of showing it off like a decor item. In that case I would always know where it was, just like a vase or a clock.

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- Chris Ference
  
  Nicholas Baker
  
  5 years ago
  
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  I could definitely see this staying on a side table or on the kitchen counter. Even if this were under the sink, I would still know where it is if there is an emergency because it is so different & beautiful.
  
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Mark H

5 years ago

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Those aren't the first. Some marine fire extinguishers are also white.

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- Chris Ference
  
  Mark H
  
  5 years ago
  
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  It might not be the first, but it is the most stunning and refined.
  
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