El Dorado Hills startup Rescue Products Inc. is out with a product its execs think can save firefighters' lives – and generate millions in sales.

The device – called "Tracer Line" – took a decade to develop. It's a hands-free, tape-measure-like tool that attaches to a firefighter's belt and unwinds, leaving an illuminated trail as he or she moves through a fire scene. The firefighter can then follow the retractable line to exit.

It would replace the bulky rope lines that firefighters now sometimes carry. They're so heavy and awkward that "in reality less than 50 percent are actually used," says Paul Misso, a veteran exec who became Rescue Product's CEO two years ago and has helped bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in financing.

Misso reports the company has made sales to two fire departments, including Sacramento's. Many more sales are expected now that the device – priced at $395 – is finally in production.

Misso, who formerly ran Marquiss Wind Power, says he thinks the company can own 3 percent of the international market in five years. That would amount to tens of millions in sales.

Company consultant Julius Cherry, Sacramento's former fire chief, also expects Tracer Line to generate big sales. The product addresses a serious problem in a simple way, he says.

And, he adds, "I find the simplest solutions tend to work best."

Point, click, eat

Look for a major expansion of the online shopping system Raley's introduced almost a decade ago.

The West Sac grocery chain started up its "ecart" system at a Benicia store in 2003, then gradually expanded it to 13 more locations.

Now, says spokeswoman Ashley Zepernick, 15 additional stores – all in the Sacramento area – will get the service over the next few months.

Why now? Customers are more familiar with online shopping, Zepernick says. Also, technical improvements have made ecart more efficient.

The system allows shoppers to select groceries online and have their orders filled by a Raley's employee. The customers then can drive by the store at a specified time and pick up food without leaving their cars.

Shoppers can try out ecart five times without paying a service fee. After that, there's a $4.95 charge for orders under $100.

Movable feast

Two of Sacramento's gourmet food trucks are on a reality TV roll.

Based on votes cast by their fans, Mini Burger Truck and Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen are rated No. 4 and No. 8 in the country, respectively, in a monthlong popularity contest sponsored by the Food Network. (See more details at foodtrucks.teamdigital.com.)

If either business is No. 1 when the contest ends Sept. 12, it will get $10,000 and a spot in the network's "Great Food Truck Race" reality show.

But Mini Burger boss Davin Vculek has his eyes on a different prize: a change in the city ordinance that now prevents food trucks from staying in one spot for more than 30 minutes.

Vculek – who has a second truck going into service in six weeks – thinks chances are good for a change in the law before the end of the year.

"Most of the City Council," he says, "wants to at least make it fair for us to operate."

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