On the 3rd of January, Fire Chief Don Heller from the Oregon Fire Department (IL) received around 19:30 a call for a basement fire. He arrived on scene with heavy smoke coming from the basement and also coming out of the eaves. 

He said he did performed his 360 walk-around before the first-due engine arrived and was able to confirm a basement fire and  grabbed a DSPA-5 out of his buggy (which he took delivery of last week).  He opened the door to the house and the basement door was open.  He deployed the DSPA-5, threw it down the basement stairs and closed the basement door.

Since it was dark, he said it was hard to see the smoke conversion, however, when his first-due engine arrived they were able to immediately go to the basement and finish suppression efforts with minimal resistance from the fire.  He stated that the engine company still encountered some heat, however, they reported that it was significantly less than they had ever experienced before on a basement fire.  He also noted there was heavy charring on the floor joists and most of the soft goods in the basement had been consumed by the fire.

He was quick to note he felt that the unit worked as advertised and felt it was a successful deployment. 

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