Fire extinguishers

[dalmationman]

Hi
Does anybody think these are worthwile ?
And who has one ?

I have one and when I smelt a burning smell hacking down the motorway it was a great comfort to know I had one.
Turned out to just be that the dalmation had farted !

Seriousley though, I have never actually tried one, have they got the ability to put out an automotove fire ?

[kevtherev]

I have one

[Stefvan]

A friend of mine came across an accident with an old style mini upside down, with the engine still running, with the driver unconscious in his seat with his seatbelt on. With petrol all over the place. Since then, I have carried a fire extinguisher in the car/van. Haven't used it yet. Also saw a classic Norton Cafe racer, outside the Bar Italia, catch fire on starting up, and three bikers trying to put out the blaze engulfing their pride and joy with a pathetic water fire extinguisher. A guy walked out of a nearby shop with a powder extinguisher and whoomph put it out in 2 seconds.

Stefvan

Shopping for a fire blanket too
Got lots of gas appliances, a big lpg tank, and kids...

[tonytech]

Had one in my type 2, transfered it to the T25 microbus a few years later. When I got divorced the ex took it.
About 10 years after I'd bought it It discharged in her boot, Very messy. (I kept a very straight face)

So yes they are worth while BUT Get them serviced or replace them.

T

[Westy.Club.Joker]

Carry one in all my vehicles, dry powder and a fire blanket in me camper. Legal requirement in some countries abroad I believe.

[Bowton Lad]

I recently bought a dry powder fire extinguisher & a fire blanket from JK at what I would consider to be a fair price. I can't remember the exact prices but I would guess £12.00 & £15.00 respectively.

There should be no problems with a fire blanket, nothing to go wrong really. However, D.P. extinguishers can give problems after a while especially in damp conditions because the powder is liable to 'cake'. It just gets damp & forms a semi-solid lump inside the extinguisher.

The best extinguishers for motor vehicles were the old B.C.F. (green coloured) ones but they were deemed to be non-enviromentally friendly & are no longer available.

I know for a fact that Greater Manchester County Fire Service did away with all their D.P. extinguishers at least 15 years ago & replaced them with
the A.F.F.F. (2kg foam) type. I don't know how much one of those would cost but you would have to go to a fire protection company to buy one & I
don't think they would be cheap.

[Westy.Club.Joker]

Dry powder extinguishers should be inverted a couple of times to shake the powder up every few months, this puts the air back into the powder. If you have seen the stuff out of the can you will see it "flows" like water, due to being very fine powder.

You should be able to unscrew the top off most POWDER type extinguishers as the propellant bottle (CO2) is contained in a cartridge until you pull the trigger. You can then look at the state of the powder and check if it looks OK, then weigh the gas cartridge, should have it`s full weight stamped on it. This way you can check that it`s not leaked. Put it all back together and you`ve done a fire extinguisher service.

I`ve done plenty like that, my old fella used to be in the game I`ve got some DP extinguishers at home that are over 10 years old, perfectly servicable and two of them sit on a hook in a damp garage without any probs.

[Ian Hulley]

We have a small (2kg) Dry Powder in the living area, a 3kg AFFF mounted in the back,next to the LPG tank for engine bay incidents.

BUT best of all we have a Fire Trace automatic extinguisher which covers the gas cupboard,Ebber fuel tank and the engine bay. This is always under pressure (i.e. discharged) and is contained in a 4mtr. long plastic tube (6mm in diameter) which melts in contact with a flame and therefore allegedly puts the fire out.

You should always carry an extinguisher AND have a CO and smoke detector. This should be made part of the MOT in my opinion.

Cheers,Ian.

[Bowton Lad]

Dry powder extinguishers should be inverted a couple of times to shake the powder up every few months, this puts the air back into the powder. If you have seen the stuff out of the can you will see it "flows" like water, due to being very fine powder.

Dry powder does ''flow'' like water when it's new out of the bag & put into an extinguisher for the first time. I remember D.P. extinguishers being inverted & shaken twice daily to try to alleviate the 'caking' problem but it never loosens more than 25% - 50% of the powder. I serviced dozens of dry powder & chemical foam extiguishers over a 27 year period.


[quote=''Westy.Club.Joker''] I`ve got some DP extinguishers at home that are over 10 years old, perfectly servicable and two of them sit on a hook in a damp garage without any probs.[/quote]




Your 10 year old extinguishers should still be servicable as for many years now all extinguishers have been lined with plastic to stop them going rusty inside. The ultimate test comes when you have to use them in anger!
Strictly speaking all extinguishers should be serviced quarterly & discharged annually. Following the annual discharge test they should be filled with new water/dry powder/foam as appropriate. These tests etc apply mostly to large 9 litre extinguishers & not the small 'stored pressure'
type like A.F.F.F.

So WCJ, although your D.P.extinguishers are over 10 years old the powder inside them should never be more than 1 year old.

Ian, where did you get your A.F.F.F. & how much did it cost?

[Mash]

Yup got fire blanket, extinguisher, CO2 and smoke detector. Got them all when we got the van, there are different regs for different countries so in some you will find you need to have them to travel along with a whole list of other items

Mrs Mash

[dbroada]

I've got 2, but I'm not convinced that they are worth having.

How many people have ever actually let one off and know what to do? What bit to hold and what bit NOT to hold? Buy 2 and play with one to make sure you can use it in a hurry.

I have been trained at work in their use and the main thing I learnt is what I knew already. If there's a fire - GET AWAY! I think having one WITHOUT KNOWING HOW TO USE IT gives a false sense of security. There will always be occassions where rapid use of an extinguisher will save something but running away quickly will save more lives.

I think it is more important - especially if you have young children - is to have an "abandon ship" procedure. They must know to get out quickly without looking for their favorite toy. I know the fire drills at work aren't taken seriously but it must be worth training your own kids.

I have to say the demonstation of using a blanket on a chip pan frightened me silly. Did you know the flames just walk up the blanket and down the other side? Fine if you are prepared but I'm sure I would panic when I saw it happening. In fact over Christmas I was talking to a fireman who says his area no longer recommend their use.

[Ian Hulley]

As a trained firefighter (in conjuction with hazardous materials carried on vehicles and in the workplace) and as a Mines Rescue rescue worker we were always told that priority No.1 was to ensure that everyone was out of the vehicle/building and then,and only if you feel confident to do so, use 1 extinguisher (which is why lorries with hazardous cargos carry 1 extinguisher) to attempt to put the fire out.

(Normally by the time you've got round to using an extinguisher the fire will either be too big to put out anyway OR easily put out 'cos you've over-estimated the risk or have mostly burnt itself out.)

In the case of a van usually inside it'll be a soft furnishing or trim fire, not many people use a deep-fat fryer in their camper, these can go up very quickly or in the engine bay it's a fuel fire i.e. old and perished fuel line or something sprayed on a hot surface like engine oil, in which case it can also go up extremely quickly.

Training is different from reality though and if you and yours are threatened you'll use anything you can get your paws on to get out of the van. Anyone who's ever been on fire will know what I mean.

Top and bottom of it is ALWAYS carry an extinguisher,hopefully you'll never need to use it.

[dbroada]

I may not have said it right but I wasn't trying to stop people carrying extinguishers. What I was trying to do was get them to think about how it would be used. Its no good relying on one if you have to sit down a read the instructions before you use it.

[kathyshack]

Hi Ian,
If you don't mind me asking, how much approx is it to have one of those Fire Trace automatic extinguisher things fitted?
thanks,
kathy

[Ian Hulley]

Hi Ian,
If you don't mind me asking, how much approx is it to have one of those Fire Trace automatic extinguisher things fitted?
thanks,
kathy

Ey up Kathy, I'll find you the info ... we had to have 'em underground in all vehicles just in case a L/R or dump truck caught fire. I 'liberated' a couple when the vehicles were sold off/scrapped.

It would be more viable up front if the insurance companies recognised the benefits ...

I'll get back to you.

Cheers,Ian.