Fire Extinguishers

[Celticwarrior]

I used one of my car extinguishers to help put out a brush fire along the side of the road a couple of years ago. Myself, a state trooper and a big rig all stopped to get it under control with our extinguishers until the local (probably volunteer) fire rig got there to put it out with a pumper. Some moron tossing a lit cigarette out the window was what they figured it was caused by, and it was creeping toward the pine forest beyond the green belt along the shoulder. It could have expanded easily into something way out of control. Being small, they don't last long, but it was good to use it and help out. The big rig had one that was larger than ones I have seen in public building hallways. He'd never used it before and the cop had to show him how to work it. LOL

[SQWERL]

Fire fact: a fire in your house will double in size roughly every 60 seconds. So while grabbing the extinguisher go ahead and call 911 and get everyone out. Most FD's have approx. 2-3 minutes to get in the truck and get enroute, longer if it's VFD. Then factor in drive time and laying a line. Also when using a FE remember PASS: pull pin, aim, squeeze, sweep. When aiming, aim at the base of the fire not the middle or the flames.

[natertot]

I can answer yes to all the OP questions. I am actually responsible for the FE program at my work and have used several for actual events, so I am very confident in using one.

For Hunter, I would use mine for another person, even a stranger. Mine are rechargable and I have access to a company that can do it on the cheap. Not worried about a few bucks.

For Sqwerl, right with PASS. That is what we teach at my work on how to use a FE. The other thing we teach for fire is RACE. RESCUE persons in immediate danger, ACTIVATE fire alarm, CALL for help, EVACUATE the area and then building.

Also along with fire safety, remember to check smoke and CO detectors every daylight savings time. Good stuff on here guys!

[grokh5499]

Boy do I feel like a dummy dummy. I was rummaging through the front closet looking for sewing thread of all things and noticed a fire extinguisher above my head. Remembering this thread, I thought oh yeah how did I forget about that?. So I took it down, It must have been installed by a very tall person as I could barely unhook the harness above my head. Empty, and not the rechargeable kind either. So another to do to add to the list.

[Rick]

If you don't know, some dry chemical fire extinguishers can be a pain to clean up and can be corrosive if water is present. So it's best to know which dry chem you have.

If your FE is filled with ammonium phosphate then you might consider replacing it. When the chemical hits a hot surface it can really adhere to it (vehicle engine or stove) and make clean up almost impossible. On top of that, if it comes in contact with moisture (rain and rain splash) it can turn corrosive so wiring can be affected.

Look for a dry chem that uses sodium bicarbonate. It works well for vehicle applications and you can just wash it off with water. it's non-corrosive so you don't have to worry about problems later on.

The first is usually referred to as Multi Purpose and the latter is called Regular if that helps any.

There is also a type called Purple K. I know this stuff is easy to clean up and is not corrosive but I have no experience with them. I just know they are out there.

There is also a fairly new type of FE that uses Halotron. It replaces Halon that was deemed both dangerous and harmful to the environment. We had multiple beach ball sized tanks of halon in most of our offices. I'm sure they've converted to Halotron. It's a high pressure liquid that evaporates. It works great although it's a bit pricey. You just have to consider the cost of your engine, generator or kitchen in comparison. They even make automatic dispensing halotron FEs for your vehicle engine or RV generator. It uses a fuse link (you can purchase different temperature links) that melts at preset temps, opens the valve and dispenses the halotron. Again, these are pricey (300+) but what's your RV worth? They are also rechargeable.

I have a couple of 10lb CO2 extinguishers at home. I've used one in a grease fire and it saved the house. That type of fire will reflash once O2 hits it again but I was able to keep the flames down until I could put a lid on the pan to smother the fire. Grease fire = Black as pitch!! You can't see anything in the smoke. Just an eerie glow from the actual flames. Another good thing is the CO2 doesn't splatter hot grease everywhere like a dry chem will. Then you'll have fires spread all over, which means more coverage of the dry chem (if you have enough) and more clean up. The CO2 FE are rechargeable but the tanks have to be hydro tested every so often. I think 10 years but I'm not certain any more. There is an expense for that as well.

Like natertot, I was the safety guy for one of our offices (those little added responsibilities are so nice). One of the things we did was fire extinguisher demos and training. We had the fire department on site during the training and put out actual fires in a training can using various types of agents.

[hunter63]

One tip I was given, by a fire extinguisher service guy.....(had to have all of ours recharged and recert-ed once a year)
Dry chemical types settle after a while.....so every so often, take it down, tip it upside down, and tap the bottom, loosen up the settled powder.

[wtrfwlr]

I know all about those dry powder extinguishers! I was a race mechanic/pit crew for many years and if there was any sign of even smoke or anything with a race car on the track and the safety crews could get to it they would just blast the entire car with that stuff until every extinguisher they had was empty! Once those were out they would start in with the water hoses. It would more or less ruin the entire car. It was a worst case scenario as all the surfaces were scorching hot, massive amounts of dry chemical and then vulcanized onto all the metal parts with water, most of the parts were alloy on top of that. Most have since gone to the Halotron/Halon type bottles. We always had an onboard Halon system that was both temperature AND manually activated with nozzles positioned towards both the driver and the engine bay. That in itself would extinguish most all the fires but the guys on the safety trucks had their moments to shine so........
No, really they were doing what they were trained to do and that is a good thing, just made for a whole ton of work for us on the team!

Good input with this thread. A very important item that is easily overlook and/or forgotten about.

[hunter63]

I know all about those dry powder extinguishers! I was a race mechanic/pit crew for many years and if there was any sign of even smoke or anything with a race car on the track and the safety crews could get to it they would just blast the entire car with that stuff until every extinguisher they had was empty! Once those were out they would start in with the water hoses. It would more or less ruin the entire car. It was a worst case scenario as all the surfaces were scorching hot, massive amounts of dry chemical and then vulcanized onto all the metal parts with water, most of the parts were alloy on top of that. Most have since gone to the Halotron/Halon type bottles. We always had an onboard Halon system that was both temperature AND manually activated with nozzles positioned towards both the driver and the engine bay. That in itself would extinguish most all the fires but the guys on the safety trucks had their moments to shine so........
No, really they were doing what they were trained to do and that is a good thing, just made for a whole ton of work for us on the team!

Good input with this thread. A very important item that is easily overlook and/or forgotten about.

The reason that they are gonna shoot you with the powder..whether you need it or not....is that them bottles, and you just hauled your buttock carrying it all the way over "there".....ARE HEAVY.........It ain't comming back full!
Oh yeah, If you shoot the driver, get his helmet off, might suffocate.

(Former, SCCA/MCSCC licensed competition driver, pit crew, corner crew)

[wtrfwlr]

The reason that they are gonna shoot you with the powder..whether you need it or not....is that them bottles, and you just hauled your buttock carrying it all the way over "there".....ARE HEAVY.........It ain't comming back full!
Oh yeah, If you shoot the driver, get his helmet off, might suffocate.

(Former, SCCA/MCSCC licensed competition driver, pit crew, corner crew)

Hehehe! You've got a good point with that! I tell Ya though, I would have toted all those bottles back to the corner barrier or the truck myself if that would have saved all the damage and work that had to be done to our cars. And trust me, there have been plenty of times that I have been jumping up and down screamin SPRAY IT SPRAY IT SPRAY IT!!
*And Yes...God Bless ALL the Corner Workers! Done it myself as well, they ain't just standin around out there!!!

[hunter63]

Watched a guy showing off his Corvette, with just installed on board fire system....to his frineds....they had a young child, and as they were talking, the kid set it off....Oh What A Mess.....LOL.
As far a corner workers go, they are the real deal....watched them right and over turned Bug-eyes Sprite off turn 7 in the swamp....role bars doen't hold up the car in mud........he tried to stay with me thru the turn...his white driver suit was mud for the waist up......That will teach him....LOL

Raced a Formula V and Karmann Ghia fo a bunch of years, crewwd for a couple of friend with Formala V's and a coupe of Sports racers.......Fun times.

[Rick]

I had a KG for several years. What a fun bug that was. That was my get to work ride. It was cherry red. Just like this one.

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[hunter63]

Fun car, I'll have to dig up some pic's for a future post.....