A Hampton Roads company is taking lessons from the War on Terror and applying them to basic fire protection.

The Chesapeake-based Sigmon Group has developed gear for military first responders. Now, they’re turning their attention to those who live in homes and apartments.

The Xscape Safe suit is their latest invention, designed to save lives.

When the Pembroke Towers in Norfolk caught fire in spectacular fashion back on January 16th, things could've turned out much worse than they did.

Tony Church, 13News

Bruce Watson of the Sigmon Group demonstrates the Xscape suit.

Nobody from the 12-story building was killed. One resident and one firefighter were injured, but considering that Fire and Rescue ladders only reached up seven floors, the possible outcome could've been disastrous.

Now, the Xscape Safe suit, with its dual-mirror, 5-layer, state-of-the-art technology, could be a possible solution.

Sigmon Group claims testing conducted at North Carolina State University prove the suit could withstand blasts of 3,000 degrees for three seconds, and the fire dummies inside sustained zero burns.

“So, the idea is for someone that works or lives in a high rise building, or anywhere, would be able to get from point a to point b, the exit, safely," said Bruce Watson of the Sigmon Group. “Get in, get out."

The company built upon its post 9/11 success stories, similar, carbon-lined chemical and biological suits for the military and police, and used that know-how to make the Xscape Suit for regular folks.

”What we did was develop the fire suit in this same type of mold or model where anybody could put it on,” said Watson. “It's like a large pair of coveralls or pajamas, and from that we're able to offer it to the public, to the civilian personnel, for safety."

Sigmon is currently marketing the suit through its web site. The company hopes to finalize distribution deals soon that would put the product on store shelves at places like Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

The Xscape Safe Suit kit isn't cheap. It retails for $369. The company says if it saves lives, though, it's worth it.