Case Study:
 The Great Couch Fire

In 2016,  Minnesota’s professional firefighters were stuck. They wanted flame retardants banned from new furniture sold in the state. Their argument: the carcinogens in those chemicals did more harm to firefighters than slightly faster-burning furniture ever would.

Firefighters against fire retardants. It should have been an easy story. The Capitol press corps wasn’t biting.

Then a reporter made an offhand crack: it would take a couch fire to get their attention.

So we gave them one.

We built a living room at the St. Paul Fire Training Facility and invited the media to watch it burn. Reporters from nearly every outlet in town showed up. The stalled bill got its second wind, and by the end of session a deal was struck to start phasing out the sale of furniture with flame retardants in Minnesota.

Your issue probably doesn’t need a bonfire. It needs someone who knows when to light one.