The Science of Dry Ice Fire Suppression

Dry ice (frozen CO2) properties:
  • Solid pellets are -109°F
  • Sublimes directly to CO2 gas
  • Expands 800 times in volume from a solid to a gas
    • Attacks all 3 aspects of fire at once:
  • Oxygen is displaced by heavier CO2 gas
  • Heat is rapidly removed
  • Fuel is cooled below ignition temperature

    • Introducing ELSA

    The most powerful fire extinguisher the laws of physics allow!

    Our patented ELSA technology finally makes dry ice fire suppression practical:

  • Stores dry ice pellets at -320°F for years
  • Portable and fixed options
  • Discharges dry ice at 300 lb / minute
  • Can be sized to fit any application
  • Manual discharge through nozzle or hose
  • Integrates with fire panels for automatic discharge


    • Pilot testing opportunities are now available!


    For more information, contact us at info@carverfire.com

    Applications for our ELSA technology

    Lithium Battery Fire Suppression

    EV fire is quickly becoming the largest unsolved fire problem in the world. The core issue is that the Lithium battery modules they use can go into thermal runaway and can't be stopped by water. We've proven in lab testing that dry ice can not only stop thermal runaway quickly, but can even cool the module enough to prevent electric shock hazards.

    View our EV module fire demo

    Fuel & Industrial Fire Suppression

    Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), the industry leading fuel fire suppression foam, has been banned starting in October 2024 because it causes PFAS contamination and cancer in firemen. As part of a DoD AFFF Challenge to find safer alternatives, we proved that dry ice outperforms AFFF foam and with no cleanup or environmental contamination.

    View our certified lab test for the AFFF Challenge
    View our 25 ft diameter diesel fire test at GA Public Safety Training Center
    View 2020 NDAA, banning AFFF foam (Sec 322-324)

    Structure Fire Suppression

    The thousands of gallons of water that are typically used for structure fires create hazardous waste runoff due to the toxic materials in modern fires, and this water can often do more damage than the fire. We've demonstrated that our ELSA system can extinguish structure fire quicker than water, with no water damage and no hazardous runoff.

    About Carver Fire



    Kuwait, 1991
    Carver Anderson (Founder & CEO)
    My long journey with dry ice and fire began in 1988 with my 8th grade Science Fair project on using dry ice to fight wildfire. My father, who made dry ice machines, soon discovered that dry ice worked even better in fuel fires and he spent most of the 1990s showing how powerful dry ice could be. We explored using dry ice in places as far off as the Kuwait fires in 1991 and learned a great deal from those experiences but couldn't figure out how to store and deliver dry ice reliably enough for a commercial fire suppression system.

    In 2020 I had the opportunity to found Carver Labs to revisit the storage problems holding this powerful technology back. My amazing team and I developed the first ELSA concept in 2021 and have since grown ELSA into a mature Patented technology. We are excited to rebrand as Carver Fire and finally begin Taming Fire with the Power of Dry Ice.
    The Carver Name
    George Washington Carver was a friend and mentor of my grandfather who spent summers as a teenager helping Dr. Carver at his Tuskegee lab. My family and I have always admired Dr. Carver's passion for science and solving difficult problems. So I and Carver Fire are both named after this amazing scientist as we continue his work using Scientific innovation to positively impact our world.
    Web Marshall (Technical Co-Founder)
    Webster Marshall has been a firefighter since 2001. His work experience has varied in different sized municipal fire departments during his career. He started as a volunteer firefighter in Baldwin County Fire Rescue for twelve years and then as Training Officer for Putnam County Fire Department for eight years. He is currently a Lieutenant at the Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services where he has worked since 2012 and is also a Lieutenant at the Jackson Trail Fire Department since 2014. He also serves as PPE and Tech Research Coordinator for the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation for the past eight years and sits as a Principal voting member of NFPA 1970(1971) and NFPA 1850(1851) where he has served since 2018. He also founded Command and Control LLC in 2020 which is an emergency services based training, research and product development firm. Webster has also developed the SSLB bench scale method since 2020.


    For more information, or to discuss a challenging fire suppression need, contact us at info@carverfire.com