School me on Fire Extinguishers please
06-20-2009, 03:06 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
School me on Fire Extinguishers please
I don't know any particular reason why, but the thought occurred to me yesterday that it might be a good idea to have a fire extinguisher.
I'd like to put one in my truck mounted somewhere. Also, my garage at my house. Honestly.......I don't know anything about them. I know you pull the pin, point and shoot out the flame near the bottom.......I think? Right?
But what is a good brand to buy? Where to buy? Different types for different uses? How big? Cost?
If you have any knowledgeable suggestions I would appreciate your input. I know we have some firefighters on here too!
Also....one last question. I have a Toyhauler RV that has one in it. What should the normal life expectancy be on it? Mine came with it new in 2003 or 2004...........before I bought it in 2007.
Thanks.
I'd like to put one in my truck mounted somewhere. Also, my garage at my house. Honestly.......I don't know anything about them. I know you pull the pin, point and shoot out the flame near the bottom.......I think? Right?
But what is a good brand to buy? Where to buy? Different types for different uses? How big? Cost?
If you have any knowledgeable suggestions I would appreciate your input. I know we have some firefighters on here too!
Also....one last question. I have a Toyhauler RV that has one in it. What should the normal life expectancy be on it? Mine came with it new in 2003 or 2004...........before I bought it in 2007.
Thanks.
06-20-2009, 05:11 AM
#2
Administrator/Jarhead
You want an ABC fire extinguisher, they are good for all fires. I keep a small one in my truck, a couple in the house, and a larger ones in my sheds.
I have never seen an extinguisher with a expiration date, usually, if the gauge is in the green, it is not damaged or weather beaten, you should be good. For the one in your camper, google the brand, and see if they recommend any type of maintenance interval, I.E. shaking it, storing it.
chaikwa is a fire guru here, I'll let him know about this thread.
I have never seen an extinguisher with a expiration date, usually, if the gauge is in the green, it is not damaged or weather beaten, you should be good. For the one in your camper, google the brand, and see if they recommend any type of maintenance interval, I.E. shaking it, storing it.
chaikwa is a fire guru here, I'll let him know about this thread.
06-20-2009, 10:44 AM
#4
DTR Mom
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a quick stop at your local fire house(career or volunteer) will answer all of your questions and show you how to properly discharge the enxtinguisher. aim at the base of the fire and sweep side to side, maintaining a distance of 7-10 feet away.
fire extinguisher in the kitchen is placed away from the stove, near an exit or room divider, but securely mounted and very visible to all. baking soda can be used if no other material available, or simply smothering the flame source with a metal lid or pot. call 9-1-1 THEN fight the fire or just get out, depending on a few things or if a fire is bigger than a basketball.(good rule of thumb)
do not allow an extinguisher to be kept in frozen temps, the propellant will be affected (chemical reaction). as MAD said : ABC type extinguishers are good and priced right for the vehicle, RV, shop. These are used for different sources of fire.
THANK YOU for thinking the way you do, and being proactive! it is also tax deductible. a lot of information is freefrom the US government, US Fire administration and local sources just for the asking!
make a escape plan for your family and PRACTICE it each month!
Heidi US government fire specialist
fire extinguisher in the kitchen is placed away from the stove, near an exit or room divider, but securely mounted and very visible to all. baking soda can be used if no other material available, or simply smothering the flame source with a metal lid or pot. call 9-1-1 THEN fight the fire or just get out, depending on a few things or if a fire is bigger than a basketball.(good rule of thumb)
do not allow an extinguisher to be kept in frozen temps, the propellant will be affected (chemical reaction). as MAD said : ABC type extinguishers are good and priced right for the vehicle, RV, shop. These are used for different sources of fire.
THANK YOU for thinking the way you do, and being proactive! it is also tax deductible. a lot of information is freefrom the US government, US Fire administration and local sources just for the asking!
make a escape plan for your family and PRACTICE it each month!
Heidi US government fire specialist
06-20-2009, 10:46 AM
#5
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My rule of thumb , buy as many as you can, you will never have enough of them if the time comes that you need to use a fire extinguisher.
We had a piece of equipment on the farm catch fire last winter, long story short, the fire burned off a fuel line, and fuel kept hitting hot steel and re-igniting the fire. we unloaded every fire extinguisher on the farm by the time the fire dept got here. we had everything from 2lb ABC, right up to 20lb ABC, the machine even had fire supression on it. We had everything re-filled , and then doubled up.
Always have an unobstructed path to your fire extinguisher, you should be able to get to it and get back to the fire in 10-15 seconds, much more than that , and a fire could spread enough that one fire extinguisher is not going to be sufficient.
If it seems like I go over board with fire prevention equipment, it's because I do, I think you can never have enough.
As far as life expectancy , they do expire, but I do not know how long it takes, i just know that we have some older extinguishers here that are no longer re-fillable , they are too old. as long as it is still holding pressure, it should be ok though. sometimes it is a good idea to turn it upside down and tap it on something a few times to make sure the powder inside has not settled and would bridge up inside when you needed it. this is especially true if it is mounted on equipment of any kind , and it will be vibrated and settle.
We had a piece of equipment on the farm catch fire last winter, long story short, the fire burned off a fuel line, and fuel kept hitting hot steel and re-igniting the fire. we unloaded every fire extinguisher on the farm by the time the fire dept got here. we had everything from 2lb ABC, right up to 20lb ABC, the machine even had fire supression on it. We had everything re-filled , and then doubled up.
Always have an unobstructed path to your fire extinguisher, you should be able to get to it and get back to the fire in 10-15 seconds, much more than that , and a fire could spread enough that one fire extinguisher is not going to be sufficient.
If it seems like I go over board with fire prevention equipment, it's because I do, I think you can never have enough.
As far as life expectancy , they do expire, but I do not know how long it takes, i just know that we have some older extinguishers here that are no longer re-fillable , they are too old. as long as it is still holding pressure, it should be ok though. sometimes it is a good idea to turn it upside down and tap it on something a few times to make sure the powder inside has not settled and would bridge up inside when you needed it. this is especially true if it is mounted on equipment of any kind , and it will be vibrated and settle.
06-20-2009, 12:25 PM
#6
Administrator
Is that what I am? 
From most of my experience, a good portion of firefighters have never used an extinguisher themselves. Your best information has come from the DTR members here that have responded already. There's no substitute for using one though. You might have an idea in your mind about how long an extinguisher will take to discharge it's agent, or about how much fire it will put out. Or how a fire will react to being shot with extinguishing agent. But until you physically use one it's all just a guess. That's why we do 'live' fire training instead of using a simulator. They have electronic gadgets now, a TV type monitor and a thing that looks like a fire extinguisher that shoots compressed air, that supposedly simulate a fire appliance and a fire. They also have propane driven fire simulators. Neither come close to what you might encounter during a 'real' event. Fires generally flare up when the initial burst from an extinguisher hits it and so far as I've seen, no simulator reflects this.
As far as the useful life of an extinguisher goes, rule of thumb for a non-refillable type is generally 5 years. If you buy a refillable one, make sure it has a metal nozzle and valve as most companies won't refill the plastic ones even though they claim they're 're-fillable'. Amerex makes the best appliance as far as I'm concerned.
One more thing and I'll shut up! There are 4 major classes of fire and it's important to know what kind of fire you are dealing with before using an extinguisher;
Class A is 'Ordinary Combustibles', paper, trash, cloth and most plastics.
Class B is 'Flammable Liquids', gasoline, diesel fuel, paint, paint thinners and compressed gasses such as propane, butane and natural gas. Be aware however, that a lot of the newer cooking oils are no longer grouped together in this class as they burn hotter and faster than ever before.
Class C is 'Energized Electrical Equipment', motors, transformers and appliances.
Class D is 'Combustible Metals', potassium, aluminum, magnesium, etc.
Class K is the new class I spoke of earlier that encompasses the new cooking oils, vegetable oils and animal fats.
That enough info?
chaikwa.
As far as the useful life of an extinguisher goes, rule of thumb for a non-refillable type is generally 5 years. If you buy a refillable one, make sure it has a metal nozzle and valve as most companies won't refill the plastic ones even though they claim they're 're-fillable'. Amerex makes the best appliance as far as I'm concerned.
One more thing and I'll shut up! There are 4 major classes of fire and it's important to know what kind of fire you are dealing with before using an extinguisher;
Class A is 'Ordinary Combustibles', paper, trash, cloth and most plastics.
Class B is 'Flammable Liquids', gasoline, diesel fuel, paint, paint thinners and compressed gasses such as propane, butane and natural gas. Be aware however, that a lot of the newer cooking oils are no longer grouped together in this class as they burn hotter and faster than ever before.
Class C is 'Energized Electrical Equipment', motors, transformers and appliances.
Class D is 'Combustible Metals', potassium, aluminum, magnesium, etc.
Class K is the new class I spoke of earlier that encompasses the new cooking oils, vegetable oils and animal fats.
That enough info?
chaikwa.
06-20-2009, 12:44 PM
#7
Administrator ........ DTR's puttin fires out and workin on big trucks admin
You want an ABC fire extinguisher, they are good for all fires. I keep a small one in my truck, a couple in the house, and a larger ones in my sheds.
I have never seen an extinguisher with a expiration date, usually, if the gauge is in the green, it is not damaged or weather beaten, you should be good. For the one in your camper, google the brand, and see if they recommend any type of maintenance interval, I.E. shaking it, storing it.
chaikwa is a fire guru here, I'll let him know about this thread.
I have never seen an extinguisher with a expiration date, usually, if the gauge is in the green, it is not damaged or weather beaten, you should be good. For the one in your camper, google the brand, and see if they recommend any type of maintenance interval, I.E. shaking it, storing it.
chaikwa is a fire guru here, I'll let him know about this thread.
Good advice, the only exception is the last sentence.
Tim
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06-20-2009, 01:21 PM
#9
Administrator ........ DTR's puttin fires out and workin on big trucks admin
Some good advice offered by all, I will add to it.
As a firefighter that actually uses fire extinguishers and has knocked down kitchen fires with a single cold fire can I can tell you that used properly the can put out a lot of fire. A "cold fire" or "can" is a water based propellant under pressure and is for wood fires only.
As Chaikwa stated different types of extinguishers and there uses, I won't be as specific.
An ABC is usually a dry chemical, (most common), they do work well but leave one heck of a mess. To much of a mess for some fires. with that being said my personal favorite is a c02 extinguisher, it has virtually no restrictions, leaves no mess, and squashes out a fire in no time. They are expensive to buy and refill, and since there is no gauge on them you have to have them tested and serviced annually. I have 2 of these in my kitchen along with a dry chem hanging in the entrance to my basement at the top of the stairs. 1 dry chem in the toolbox on my truck.
In closing I will emphatically stress this point, Life first, then property preservation. Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, so like Heidi said, a basket ball is a good size to go by.
Tim
As a firefighter that actually uses fire extinguishers and has knocked down kitchen fires with a single cold fire can I can tell you that used properly the can put out a lot of fire. A "cold fire" or "can" is a water based propellant under pressure and is for wood fires only.
As Chaikwa stated different types of extinguishers and there uses, I won't be as specific.
An ABC is usually a dry chemical, (most common), they do work well but leave one heck of a mess. To much of a mess for some fires. with that being said my personal favorite is a c02 extinguisher, it has virtually no restrictions, leaves no mess, and squashes out a fire in no time. They are expensive to buy and refill, and since there is no gauge on them you have to have them tested and serviced annually. I have 2 of these in my kitchen along with a dry chem hanging in the entrance to my basement at the top of the stairs. 1 dry chem in the toolbox on my truck.
In closing I will emphatically stress this point, Life first, then property preservation. Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, so like Heidi said, a basket ball is a good size to go by.
Tim
06-20-2009, 02:08 PM
#10
Administrator
06-20-2009, 02:19 PM
#13
Administrator ........ DTR's puttin fires out and workin on big trucks admin
Oh yeah. I love doing that, then looking at the pumpies as they are humping a hot line to the 4th floor and saying "it's all set I got it with this"!!!!!! Talk about being mad.
Tim
Talk about being mad. Tim
06-20-2009, 02:39 PM
#15
With age comes the cage
Fire extinguishers are in a pressurized container, all pressurized containers (propane tanks, scuba tanks, oxy. & acct. bottles and fire extinguishers) must be hydro tested every 10 yrs. this is normally cost prohibitive for the smaller extinguisher bottles who have normally outlived their lifespan by then anyway..
When discharging an older ABC fire extinguisher it is not uncommon for the contents to become lodged in the tank, this requires a good thump or two on the ground to get it to come loose, this only adds excitement to the festivities at hand..
In the event of a fire under your hood a Halon extinguisher is nice as it can be sprayed through the radiator without having to lift the hood and will not cause the damage that the chemical types do if it is aspirated into a running engine..
Hope this info helps
When discharging an older ABC fire extinguisher it is not uncommon for the contents to become lodged in the tank, this requires a good thump or two on the ground to get it to come loose, this only adds excitement to the festivities at hand..
In the event of a fire under your hood a Halon extinguisher is nice as it can be sprayed through the radiator without having to lift the hood and will not cause the damage that the chemical types do if it is aspirated into a running engine..
Hope this info helps