Merrill Freemasons donate fire suppression tool

MERRILL, Wis. (WSAW) - Lincoln County officials now have another new tool to fight fires.

On Tuesday, the Merrill Freemasons donated a fire suppression tool to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. The tools are thrown into a fire and release a chemical gas to quickly drop the temperature of the fire. This unit is the 13th in the Merrill and Antigo areas to be donated.

The Freemasons say it’s important for law enforcement to have the tool because they are often the first on the scene of a fire before the fire department. Andrew Caylor of the Freemasons said, “If we can get one of these in the hand of every squad in the area, in the state, even the country, so that they’re there being able to be used as a first response to a fire.”

First responders use them by pulling out the two pins and throwing them through a window or door. They say units like these can help minimize fire damage like that of the Tripoli gas station fire on January 17, 2023.