got yer fire extinquisher?

[richfromPA]

hey all,
readin all these posts made me remember a scary moment when i was 18. i used to sell firewood and was using my dads JD 2010 with loader to roll around 4 ft dia. maple logs when all the sudden a fire broke out under the 17 gal. gas tank. the first thing i did was start runnin across the pasture when i realized if it blew up or burned to the ground, the ole man would kill me! so i ran back and drove my fingers into the soil in the pasture and threw clumps of mud under hood to smother the fire. after doing so i noticed the thing i always bang my leg on, THE DAMM FIRE EXTINQUISHER. oh crap did i feel dumb. i have never made that mistake to not keep in mind of where the extinquisher lives. what happened was the throttle linkage shorted across the top of the battery and was glowing red and started a small grease fire. ever since i make a BIG DEAL about having extinquishers. DO YOU ALL HAVE ONE ON YER TRACTOR?? ya know, the tractor doesnt have to be a giant ag machine to warrant needing one.
rich

ps dads tractor showed no signs of fire and i never told him

 

[RobertN]

Yes. See attached photo.

A good extinguisher is good to have. A friend was field mowing three years ago, and started a fire. He noticed a strange smell, looked back, and was able to use the loader to scoop some stuff on it. It only too a minute for it to happen.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[RobertN]

PS...

It's never to early to think about this either. Yesterday, we had a 5 acre wildland fire. It was slow moving, but had potential to grow.

We still have wet conditions; two engines sunk to thier frames in the field trying to do a pump and roll operation.

Fortunately, our engine(posted above, on another fire) is a little more nimble /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[Boondox]

You were one lucky dude! Reminds me of a vehicle fire I saw at a highway rest stop. This guy's Corvette caught on fire. No fire extinguisher to be found. Just when the first tire popped he remembered the case of beer he'd just picked up. Shook those cans and popped the top at the flames. And it worked!

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[gordon]

Yes I've got a fire extinquisher in the cab of the Kubota. I do alot of work in the woods with a chainsaw and one never knows. Been lucky so far, knock on wood. Also have one in each of my trucks and the car as well. Cheap insurance no doubt.

I've used an extinquisher to put out two veichle fires. Thank goodness neither one was mine. One was a van on the jobsite, had no aircleaner and the carb backfired. A quick shot and it was out.

Another was at the end the road at the old house. Driving home saw a car on the side of the road that was smoking. Just then the driver popped the hood and flames came out. I pulled over reached behind the seat and got the extinquisher. I emptied the whole thing and barely got it out. While I was shooting under the hood he was at the rear of the car ripping out the amp and big boom box that he just had installed earlier that day. I ran back to my truck got a pair of dykes and cut the negitive cable going to the battery.---The father came by my house a couple of weeks later and thanked me. The car was totaled but the really nice thing was that he bought an extinquisher to replace the one I used. No it wasn't a haylon, but it was the thought that counted./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bet you guys will never guess what caused the fire in the car???

Gordon

 

[Bird]

Fellows, I agree that a fire extinguisher is great to have if you need it, but I've had several over the years (used to keep one in the kitchen and one in the garage), and since I've never had to use one of mine, they get old, probably wouldn't work if you needed them, etc. What do you guys do about that? Buy the rechargeable kind, have them checked on a regular schedule, throw them away and replace them, or what? And since there are so many different kinds, different suppressants for different kinds of fire, i.e., grease & oil vs. electrical, which kind is the best to have on hand?

Bird

 

[paccorti]

My father "burned" the concept into my mind early on. He's saved two strangers cars over the years by using his car fire extinguishers. In both cases nobody was hurt but he did save their cars. In my own case I installed some solid core ignition wires in my 73 Dodge Charger (400cid). Well radio couldn't receive anything and the very next day the new wires burn through the fuel line and start an engine fire. I almost walked away from the car thinking it had overheated. Hmmm, let me just pop the hood. WOOSH fire all over the place. Well I had a couple of extinguishers in the trunk and I just barely got that fire out. Now the wife and I carry extinguishers in the cars. Got a big multi purpose one in the garage and another in the kitchen. Can't be too carefull.

Bird, mine have gauges on them so I can tell the charge. They've got to be getting kinda low now. I'll just buy some new ones. I think extingusihers are rated A, B, C or something to handle different fires (electrical, etc.) I'm pretty sure mine are multi-purpose.

Peter

 

[richfromPA]

hey all,
another incident i remembered. about 4 yrs ago i was hurrying home and the traffic was backed up for 1/2 mile and i could see smoke ahead. when i got close enuff i saw an SUV with flames and smoke pouring out from the hood. soon after i had time to pull over and run up with my extinguisher and saw a guy with suit and tie fanning the flames with his coat and the owner dude just kinda in shock. i said " do ya gotta fire extinguisher"? ahh dahh, "no" so i sprayed her down. the fire had melted all kinds of rubber and plastic and was drippin all over the ground. i was in a hurry so i said to the guy, " here ill give ya my extinguisher cause im in a hurry" he asked me were i worked, which was 2-3 miles away, and said he would return it. well i never saw him since, which dont bother me cause i know he got the thing refilled and probably has it in his new SUV. the thing that got me, was that i did not see one person other than the suit guy try to help and the cars were stopped right next to them. that thing would have blown soon and there was no way a fire truck could have gotten there in time. moral to the story, keep that extinguisher handy. rich

 

[gordon]

Bird you asked so here goes. I just got done with some firetraining at work a few weeks ago so here is what I remember.

How much oxygen is in the air we breathe?---------21%
What percentage does it take for a human to survive------16%
What percentage does it take for a fire to survive--------13%

There are four classes of fires

Class A-----Paper, trash, wood, cloth

Class B-----Flammable liquids, gas, paint, solvents

Class C-----Electrical fires

Class D-----Metals magneizum {spelling?} potassium

Bored yet?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

There are five major types of extinguishers

1. water-- for class a fires
2. CO2 carbon dioxide class B and C fires effective range 3-8 feet from fire
3. Dry chemical class A-B-C fires effective range 12-20 feet
4. Haylon class B-C fires
5. Sodium Chloride Class D fires

Bored yet/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

You should take your extinguiser every six months and turn it upside down to make sure the chemial hasn't hardened in the bottom. Alot of people have powder extinguishers and check to gauge or button to check pressure but never turn the extinguisher upside down to make sure the chemical is still a powder.-----Very important------

One other key part of information look at how your extinguisher operates before you are in a panic sitution. Remeber this: The pass system

P-----pull the pin
A-----Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
S-----squeeze the trigger or handle
S-----Sweep the base of the fire

Bored yet/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Guess the class payed off I did remember something out of three days of training. One day was on SCBA and the fun day was at the smoke house at the fire school.
After going through the smoke house it really made me respect firemen even more and what they go through not only doing seaches for people in burning houses but putting the fires out.

So far love the new job the only thing I don't like is that darn vest that I've got to wear. But I'm getting used to it. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Gordon

 

[Bird]

Thanks, Gordon. I printed that message to save. Of course, I went through that training, too, but it was a long time ago and my memory ain't that long./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I do need to buy couple of fire extinguishers. I'd just plain forgotten about them. I'm down to one in the shop, don't think it's been touched in at least 6 years, and it rode around in an RV for 5 years before that. You can guess what the odds would be of it working now./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[skent]

I too have many extinguishers in the house, shop, and truck. I have checked the gauge's on a monthly (when I remember to) basis. But I have never thought to check to see if the powder is still a powder. Most were bought 5 years ago when we moved in.

What I figured I'd do is "test fire" one or two in the back yard and see if they work. I figure its a small price to pay (rather than wait till I need one to find out it's a dud). If I find out they don't work, I can assume I have to replace them all.

Thanks for the info.

Steve

 

[RobertN]

Gordon,
good post. Especially the classes of fires, and PASS.

Suiting up in a SCBA and going into zero visibilty is pretty wild. I've only had a couple opportunities outside of training, so far. It'll tell you if you're claustriphobic!

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[DaveM]

Very good thread gang. Reminds me that I'm long over due for getting a couple of extinguishers for our new home.

Many years ago I was working/living in Germany doing TV transmitter work for the Armed Forces Television Network. One day my partner and I were tooling down the autobahn in our VW work van when we suddenly lost power. Fortunately we we're able to coast off the autobahn onto an exit ramp. A large Mercedes was following and frantically flashing his lights at us as we came to a stop. As soon as we came to a stop we saw smoke coming from the rear of the van. Jumped out, threw open the rear hatch, saw flames, then raced back to the cab to grab the fire extinguisher. When we got back to the fire and pulled the trigger it just went "psst". Wouldn't have put out a match! We had to back up for fear of explosion and watch it burn... along with aprx. $80K's worth of test equipment! The guy in the Mercedes had a car phone (pre cell phone days I believe) and called the fire dept. but they were too late to save much. Lesson learned? You betcha: check your fire extinguisher often and replace or recharge when needed!

Dave

 

[Rowski]

Great post Gordon. I took a firefighting course 14 years ago. Did the SCBA too, smoke machine broke the day we had to do trials but they had blacked out our masks. Did get to go into a "controlled" burn, we had to wait till the room flashed before they let us turn on the nozzle. That scared me pretty good. Not on the dept. anymore, no time and got diabetes shortly after the course.

Thanks. Did you get a new job? You may have mentioned it in another post but I'm way behind in posts due to the busy winter.

Derek

 

[gordon]

Thanks to all, hopefully it will help someone down the line. I know for that part of the training I was bored to tears. But after getting two months of stuff crammed between these ears I'm actually surprized that I remembered that much. Did well on that test.

Sorry to hear about the diabetes Derek, seems we all have something wrong with us in one shape or another.

My new job is plant maintenance mechanic at a state prison. It has 28 buildings inside the fence line and another 10 outside the fenceline. So there is plenty to work on. But in order to get the job I had to pass the two month correctional officer training. That is a story in itself!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

So far I've been doing a mix of steam work, plumbing, control work, electrical work, supervising outside contractors and inmate workers, (boring) but it all pays the same. Actually about the only thing I haven't done yet is much havc work, that will change before long with summer coming. My hours are 7-3 Tuesday thru Saturday. Love the job so far!

Gordon

 

[Rowski]

Gordon

That's great to hear about your job. Nice job, nice hours, probably good pay and compensation, you get all those federal holidays off too!

No need to be sorry for me. With insulin in my infusion pump I can keep my diabetes under real great control yet have the flexibilty to what I want when I want. I am fortunate that I got something that is controlable. My mom has lost 2 really good freinds within 6 months due to cancer. I just heard (rumor) that a guy I roomed with at tech college with has cancer. Tried to call but no replies. he's only in his mid 20's.

Best of luck with the new job!

Derek

 

[gordon]

Yup I know all to well about controlling something. I've got epilepsy, have to take pills twice a day for the rest of my life. But as long as I take the pills all is good. There are alot worse things that could happen.

Gordon

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bird,
I think the best all round extingquisher to have in the car/boat/tractor is dry powder one to two sizes larger than you think is sufficient. If anyone ever uses an extinguisher in earnest they usually replace it with a larger one. A big dissapointment is to grab an extinguisher and have it only spray propellent gas but no powder. Vibration such as you get on a boat, car, tractor, etc. packs the powder. Frequently you should take it down from its mount and slap it on the bottom firmly with your hand. Also smack it a couple licks from the sides. You should be able to shake the unit and feel the powder shifting inside. I was in search and rescue and vessel inspection with the USCG Aux out of San Diego for 10 yrs and have enough horror stories to last a lifetime regarding extinguisher ignorance and mistreatment.

The first accessories to be added to my soon to be delivered L4610 HST cab model will be in priority order: fire extinguisher, two way radio, cup holder (can you believe A/C, heat, etc B U T no cup holder????) AM/FM/CD

Patrick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

i carry two fire extinguishers in both of my cars. i want to buy one for a tractor i am
getting, however i do not like the way these are secured. i do not think they would
stay on a tractor, because of all of the motion. is there a company that makes one
that has a gadget that really secures it in place, and where would i find one?
thanks for any help
william