These products were developed as a result of the tragic loss of life during the events of 911.It was determined in the subsequent investigations that had people in those buildings been issued with thee products, as many as 50% would have survived the disaster. The problem with modern building fires is that due to the use of plastics and polymers and other such products, a person only has 3-4 minutes to evacuate the building before chemicals such as Hydrogen Cyanide, Carbon Monoxide, Acrolein and Hydrogen Chloride take their toll. (In the 70's people had 15 minutes to evacuate)
Over 80% of people lost to building fires die because of smoke inhalation and not from burns sustained. As a result of these findings, countires like America, the UK and China have introduced these products into high rise residential and work environments. China has made these products mandatory in hotels for the evacuation of their clientele. American companies are now issueing the hoods to fire wardens and OH&S personnel as part of their crisis management procedures.