Arcair® SLICE Aids Fire Departments and Emergency Rescue Operations
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St. Louis, Mo. (May 21, 2008) - When rescue teams are called into action to extricate accident casualties and save lives, they know that every second counts. That's why they use the use the Arcair SLICE® Pack cutting system. Unlike any other cutting process, the SLICE exothermic cutting system can burn or cut or pierce virtually any metallic, non-metallic or composite material quickly and safely.
In a construction accident or collapsed building, the SLICE torch can pierce concrete and cut through rebar and structural steel. If there is structural failure due to natural disasters such as an earthquake or heavy equipment accident, it can free victims by burning through nearly any metallic or non-metallic material. It cuts three times faster than any oxyacetylene torch on three-inch mild steel.
Manufactured by Arcair, the industry leader in air-carbon arc products, the SLICE Pack is designed for quick entry and extraction in a wide variety of rescue situations, allowing rescuers to cut through locks, deadbolts, steel doors, floors, roofs, frame walls, iron bars, gratings, metal roofing, brick, concrete, and virtually any other obstacle.
Rescuers need to act fast, and the SLICE torch requires no pre-heating. It feeds oxygen and electrical power for ignition to a patented magnesium cutting rod. The rod ignites immediately after turning on the oxygen and touching the cutting rod to the striker. Once the exothermic reaction begins, there is no need for continuing electrical power because the SLICE cutting rod continues to burn as long as the oxygen flow is continued. The exothermic principle enables the operator to keep a fog nozzle spraying right on the cutting area during the cut.
The SLICE Pack is safer than many other cutting methods because it doesn't require electrical power of special fuel gasses while cutting. And because the SLICE torch puts so fast, head conductivity and build-up are kept to a minimum.
Realizing that emergency workers must be able to squeeze into tight spaces and have operating flexibility, Arcair designed the equipment to be portable and self-contained. Because the torch runs on oxygen and has a built in re-chargeable battery, the SLICE Pack can go anywhere.
Arcair SLICE equipment was used after the 9-11-2001 attack on New York City's World Trade Center, and more and more fire departments, such as the Fire Department of Perryville, MO, use Arcair slice pack cutting. In fact, the Perryville firefighters are serving as "poster boys" for a SLICE Pack advertising campaign.
Arcair® has long been considered an arc gouging industry leader in the fields of fire and rescue, underwater construction and demolition, fabricators, foundries, and even the military. Arcair® offers a brand of product choices from value driven to professional quality and is proud to have their products once again validated by these recent tests.
About Thermadyne Industries
Thermadyne Industries, Inc. is owned by Thermadyne Holdings Corporation. Thermadyne Holdings is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of cutting and welding products and accessories under a variety of leading premium brand names including Victor®, Tweco®, Arcair®, Thermal Dynamics®, Thermal Arc®, Stoody®, Turbo Torch®, Firepower® and Cigweld®. Its common shares trade under the symbol THMD. For more information about Thermadyne, its products and services, visit the company's web site at www.Thermadyne.com.
For more information, contact
Wes Morgan, 636-728-3057
wmorgan@thermadyne.com
