Fire Exstinguishers

[ivan the terrible]

hi all, don't know what members views are on fire exstinguishers in their cars, don't suppose its a legal requirement, but have just bought myself one from lidl, only cost £7.99 1kg size, cheers ivan

[Guest whiz]

Only any good if you have the confidence and knowledge to use them properly

[Guest chrispine]

I always carry one in the kit, not that I don't trust the electrics or anything, did a firefighting course at work a while ago and was told that for a vehicle the extinguisher needs to be (2B, geddit, sorry), powder due to electrics and fuel.

 

Chris

[agent_zed]

yep got one in my car. Whilst i agree that you shouldn't tackle fires without proper knowledge i think that i'd rather have one and just possibly give me or someone else the few seconds extra before the fire brigade arrives and might even save a life if they are trapped and the fire is just starting.

 

Personally i think all cars should be fitted with them, might remind people they have 50 litres of highly flammable liquid sloshing around.

 

Might be overkill but a seatbelt cutter is a useful tool as well. Although thinking about it i guess 4 points are a little safer in that respect than standard 3 point reel car ones as if a 3 point one locks you in then you can't get loose but a 4 point static one you can (hopefully) just loosen the straps and slip out.

 

hopefully won't ever find out.

[philshelton]

this reminds me of when i used to service/inspect fire equipment. one time i was heading down a main road and had to stop suddenly, unfortunately the safety pin had fell out one or the co2 extinguisher i had board, and as i hit the breaks the extinguisher went off. I jumped from the car gasping for air as another motorist ran up with a fire extinguisher to put out the cloud of smoke (CO2) coming from my car made me smile.

[fry61]

Better to have a 3 point inertia reel belt that fits first time, every time it's clipped on; than a 4 point that needs (& maybe doesn't get) adjustment for differing clothing & passengers;& the release buckle lets go no matter what load as soon as the red button is pressed;if not change the belt.

[Snapperpaul]

"Only any good if you have the confidence and knowledge to use them properly"

 

What sort of comment is that???

 

You cars is on fire

What do you do

 

No fire extinguisher, you watch

A fire extinguisher may well save your life

You pass another car on fire at least you can stop and help

 

[Guest whiz]

"Only any good if you have the confidence and knowledge to use them properly"

 

What sort of comment is that???

 

You cars is on fire

What do you do

 

No fire extinguisher, you watch

A fire extinguisher may well save your life

You pass another car on fire at least you can stop and help

 

"What sort of comment is that???"

 

I will tell you what sort off comment is that. After 22 years in the fire service I have seen what can happen when a person uses the wrong extingiusher or uses it with the wrong method off use. they can get it wrong big time with big consequences causing serious harm to themselves & damage to property. Because yeah every time you pick up a fire extinguisher, You have time to check.

 

1. What type it is

2. What class of fire can it be used on

3. Method of use

 

As Phil will back me up on this a large percentage of people who pick up a Co2 fire extinguisher to put a fire out waste half off it when they squeeze the handle because they *bleep* themselves with the noise it makes. It goes everywhere else but where it should go.

 

Andy

[philshelton]

"What sort of comment is that???"

 

I will tell you what sort off comment is that. After 22 years in the fire service I have seen what can happen when a person uses the wrong extingiusher or uses it with the wrong method off use. they can get it wrong big time with big consequences causing serious harm to themselves & damage to property. Because yeah every time you pick up a fire extinguisher, You have time to check.

 

1. What type it is

2. What class of fire can it be used on

3. Method of use

 

As Phil will back me up on this a large percentage of people who pick up a Co2 fire extinguisher to put a fire out waste half off it when they squeeze the handle because they *bleep* themselves with the noise it makes. It goes everywhere else but where it should go.

 

Andy

Oh yes we used to use the out of date (needs to be pressure tested) ones to let the staff where we were servicing have a go at using one correctly. A co2 would make so much noise some of them would drop it in shock.

[agent_zed]

Better to have a 3 point inertia reel belt that fits first time, every time it's clipped on; than a 4 point that needs (& maybe doesn't get) adjustment for differing clothing & passengers;& the release buckle lets go no matter what load as soon as the red button is pressed;if not change the belt.

 

3 point belts are good but they don't necessarily work better. although modern cars with pre-tensioners are good as they take up the slack, If i am leaning forward when i get hit i am going to hit the steering wheel before the belt takes the slack. If 3 points are better then why don't racing drivers have them? Its mainly convenience and as you say most people wouldn't fit them right. But seeing as most of us (i am assuming) on here have 4 point harnesses i hope we do bother to tighten them correctly.

 

My point was more that in a bad accident the button could get jammed and you don't have time to think about things when you see smoke coming from the front. The cutters also often have a hammer on them to break glass if someone is trapped in their car.

 

 

'As most of my car is GRP, if I see part of it on fire I'll be running (yes sometimes I can) the other way fast. It can burn, a tiddly extinguisher aint gonna help me out.'

 

fair enough but what happens when you come across an accident and there are people in the car and smoke is just starting. I'd rather at least try than just stand and watch.

[agent_zed]

That's the main reason my car has one fitted.

 

[Al Milton]

Reminds me of an instance when I worked for Volkswagen.

We were ferrying cars betweeen depots and I was the minibus driver. On one run a car driving in the opposite direction had flames licking out from under the bonnet.

I swung the bus round, it was safe to do so, as we carried a 5kg powder extinguisher while the car pulled over.

 

Middle aged lady with the grandchild in the back was panicking and struggling to get the kid out the back. One of our lads helped her while I discharged the extinguisher through the radiator grill, (did not open the bonnet as didn't want to induce more oxygen/cause a draft). An HGV also pulled up, called the brigade out (this was before mobile phones were as common as they are now), then discharged his extinguisher through the grill as well.

 

We stopped the fire from being far more serious, got thanked by the brigade and lady for quick thinking then went back to work. (Then spent the next hour filling out an incident report at VW to explain why the extinguisher had been used - with no new VW being damaged!!)

 

Since then have always carried an extinguisher.

[Grim]

what's the lifespan of an extinguisher? Having seen this thread, i have a feeling mine might be due for replacement.

Also, i have a failure investigation for some broken fire extinguishers at work, where the whole lever mechanisms have broken off.... i bet that went with a bang!