Firefighter Peter Thorpe invented Fire Avert, a kill switch for electric stoves, to prevent the number one cause of home fires (unattended cooking) that kill over 500 people each year. He hopes the Sharks help him bring his message and product to the masses when he pitches his business in episode 713.
Thorpe has seen his share of house fires and the preventable devastation they cause. His product can literally save lives. Fire Avert is a kill switch that turns off an electric stove at the power source when it “hears” a smoke detector. Imagine you have something cooking in a pot and you forget about it. Eventually it will start to smoke, setting off the smoke detector. If you act quickly, you can get the smoking pot off the stove and prevent a fire. If you don’t act, the pot and contents will eventually ignite, causing a house fire.
Fire Avert prevents that scenario. When the smoke detector sounds, it shuts off the stove, giving your unattended pot ample time to cool down – without starting a fire. To date, Fire Avert has prevented 75 known fires. Thorpe’s sold over 20,000 units. At $199 per unit, that’s nearly $400K in sales – not bad for a two-year-old business! Thorpe likely wants a Shark to help with money for production and distribution in big box retail stores.
My Take on Fire Avert
About 12 years ago, I put some rice on the stove to boil. I had to step outside to deal with my dog and I forgot about the rice. About fifteen minutes later, my then 8-year-old daughter was screaming out the window that the house was on fire! I ran in to the kitchen to find the smoke alarm going off and the pot of rice smoking heavily. The rice was scorched almost to the point of ignition and the pot was ruined. If I hadn’t removed it when I did, it would have burst into flames in a few more minutes.
My daughter was hysterical – she thought the house was on fire. I was pretty shaken up, too. The house was filled with smoke and it took hours to clear it out. It was a close call for us and it made me much more diligent when cooking. Thankfully, we averted disaster, but Fire Avert would have prevented the scenario all together.
I will buy this product to protect my home and family from forgetful chefs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this technology built into stoves in a few years. It certainly has the potential to be as ubiquitous as smoke detectors as a standalone product.
Do Sharks Avert Disaster and Invest?
Mr. Thorpe has several things going for him. He has credibility as a firefighter who has seen these disasters first hand, he has a product that works as advertised, and he has sales. Doing $400K in sales from a website is phenomenal. Imagine what he could do with big box distribution and national TV exposure. I expect BIG SALES for this product on show night. It looks like he’s ready to ship – there’s a picture on Thorpe’s Facebook page from December 31 of him standing in front of several pallets of product.
I think all the Sharks will bid on this product. Robert has invested in home products before, most notably with Keen Home from season six. Lori will like the universal appeal and mass market potential of the product. Kevin will see the big picture and want to license the technology to stove manufacturers. Daymond and Mark will also see the profit potential. I predict multiple bids and perhaps even a collaboration between two or more Sharks. This is a product that needs to get to the mass market!
About Rob Merlino
Speak Your Mind