True Stories

As an industrial paramedic, I encounter my fair share of unusual calls, especially ones in confined spaces or places where it's difficult to actually locate the patient. One late night, we received a 911 cell-phone call from a patient saying he was in and out of consciousness, throwing up, weak, and that he had a horrible headache. These symptoms usually point to carbon monoxide poisoning, a condition that's extremely serious because a patient only has a limited amount of time before serious, irreparable brain damage can occur.

The patient was somewhere in the plant's basement and could only give us a vague description of his location. My cohorts all had their company-issued "off"-brand lights, which put out about 30 lumens of weak light in a junky beam pattern. But I had my SureFire M6® Guardian®, which pumped out a near-flawless, 500-lumen beam. Needless to say, they all passed over his limp body because his dusty clothing blended in with the equipment around him. But my Guardian's 500 lumens of light don't allow a whole lot to remain hidden, so I soon discovered him—in an area with 800 ppm of carbon monoxide. At this concentration of CO, a person has well under an hour before brain damage occurs due to lack of oxygenation. Not only did my SureFire help us find the patient quickly enough to save his life, but it allowed our EMS crew and firefighters to get out of the area before we suffered any injuries from the poisonous gas.

Ryan M.
Michigan City, IN

I canoe remote Alaskan rivers each fall, fly fishing for various species. This past September we floated the Goodnews River in Southwest Alaska. On the last night of a 13-day float, I was awakened at 3 a.m. by a sound that was just a little louder than the pitter patter of the rain on our tent. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and reached for was my SureFire M6® Guardian®. I opened the tent door, stuck my head out, and saw every camper's worst nightmare—a 600-pound grizzly, which had crossed the stream protecting our campsite, standing only 20 feet away.

I instinctively shined the light's 500 lumens into the beast's face. He stopped dead in his tracks, raising his right front paw into the air to block the light. He then stared into the light for several seconds before deciding to turn around and bolt. Even after he was out of sight, I heard him running for another 100 yards. He'd obviously been just as scared as I was. I slept with that M6 in my hand the rest of the night.

Your light helped me to avoid what could have been my last trip to this great land. This is an amazing product, and it may very well have saved my life. Thanks, SureFire.

Dan H.
Rockingham, NC

The other day I received a frantic call from my wife. She'd lost a screw, about the same size as a BB, from a bracelet I'd given her as a gift, marking the birth of our second son. She had no idea where it had been lost, so I pulled out my M6® and started searching the house.

After checking the bedroom and the nursery, I went down to the TV room, which has a multi-colored oriental rug. I gave the rug a quick sweep with my M6, from about eight feet away, and saw a small gold glint—the screw to the bracelet. This flashlight literally found a needle in a haystack, and my wife now understands why I often gush about how sweet it is.

Ben W.
Pittsburgh, PA

I was cleaning out a storage unit, with no lighting, in a 20' x 40' foot storage container. I was in the deep end of it, crouching and crawling my way into the mountains and ridges of junk I had to clean out, when I suddenly found myself lying on a cliff of boxes. I almost fell off of when I heard a screeching noise and smelled a horrible unknown odor.

I turned to my M6® and twisted the tailcap to lock it on. I pointed the day-maker in the direction of the noise (and smell) and shockingly revealed a mass of rats looking up at me like deer caught in headlights. They were in the middle of a feeding frenzy, eating boxed dried goods they'd chomped their way into. As soon as they saw the light and felt the heat of the beam, they made a run for it. I panicked and pulled out my pocket knife, ready for any brave ones who thought about making a run for it in my direction.

Sure, I was scared, and my adrenalin was pumping, but I sure am thankful that I was carrying my trusty M6 with me.

Victor O.
Garden Grove, CA

I am an assistant chief range officer, and our range is used for law enforcement training and is open to the general public. I was working the firing line one night when our lighting system downrange went out. Since the facility had lights working properly in other areas, we decided to allow the range to remain open.

During one of the cease-fire pauses, we checked to see that the line was safe. Upon giving the line-is-hot command, I thought I saw some movement downrange. I drew my Surefire M6® Guardian® and shined it downrange (a distance of approximately 130 yards). You can imagine my surprise when I spotted an individual standing downrange! Apparently he did not hear my command to return to the firing line. Needless to say, I immediately called a cease fire. The very nervous guy who was downrange thanked me repeatedly when he returned to the firing line.

All of the other range officers were amazed at the amount of intense, focused light my M6 produced. With the 500-lumen lamp installed, the others present said it looked like an aircraft landing light. This light truly is a portable searchlight!

I just wanted to thank you for making such a quality product. And I know of at least one other person from that night who's equally as grateful.

Lawrence F.
Lindenhurst, NY

While serving in Iraq, I used my M6® Guardian® as a machine gun light. I was part of the U.S. Navy's Task Force 26 Convoy/Quick Reaction Force Team, and we had a lot of good equipment, but we were missing something important—a bright personal light for the gunners. I'm glad I brought mine, which I'd purchased from your website in 2004, with me.

My M6 is used but still working great. There were many times it was used to "shine in" Iraqi civilians' cars late at night, and it helped me illuminate the insides of buildings known to harbor snipers. With 500 lumens of blinding light, it did more than anyone could ask for and helped to bring all of my team safely home last September. My Surefire provided me with over nine months of added security. If there was ever a flashlight that has "been there done that," it's my M6.

Michael S.
Colts Neck, NJ

I am an EMT in New York and work. I was dispatched for a psych evaluation for a patient who had been off his meds for several days and was beginning to become violent.

We arrived at the building in the Bronx; two emergency services units were already there. The ESU had tried to subdue the patient but failed, and pulled out when the 6 foot 240-pound man grabbed a knife from under a couch. I had my SureFire M6® Guardian®, with its 500-lumen bulb in place, with me at the time. Going in with ESU in front of me, I pointed the light in the patient's eyes, and he immediately covered his eyes, which gave the police a chance to spray mace in his face and take him down, causing him to drop the knife.

After the police arrested the subject and placed him in a patrol car, they thanked me for using my light, then took turns blinding themselves with my flashlight. They admitted that it's worth the $400 dollars it costs, and that it's better than the Streamlight they are issued. My M6 not only saved a person from being shot and potentially killed, it also justified my expenditure of $400 on such an awesome light.

Thank you, SureFire.

Cory N.
Yonkers, NY

Three days after Hurricane Katrina my dad and I returned to Gulfport to check on his house. Arriving in the dead of night, we could only get my truck within about 100 yards of the house because of downed trees and other debris. The truck’s headlights didn’t reach to the house, so I grabbed my new SureFire M6 flashlight from the glove box and stuck it in my pocket.

As we climbed over fallen trees on our way to the house, we could hear a low humming noise. The light from the truck quickly fell off, so I pulled out the M6. I had not used it before and was amazed by its brightness. And dead in its spotlight was a downed transformer with hundreds of feet of live power lines hidden in the shadows all around us. We were headed straight for it.

Without a doubt, if it weren’t for the SureFire M6 one of us would have been part of a quick and lethal fireworks show. Needless to say, I’m now a huge fan of SureFire products and they are now a big part of our hurricane-preparedness kit.

Tom A.
Miami, FL