Fire extinguishers
Submitted: Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 13:11
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Bazza
G'Day all,
Last week, while coming home from work very late one night, I came across an old V8 HQ Holden alight, on the side of the road. The occupants were doing panic laps arround the car, with no means of putting out the fire under the bonnet. I managed to get the bonnet up without getting fried, and attempted to put it out with one of my extinguishers ( dry power ). No go! I emptied both extinguishers without totally extinguishing the flames. By good luck, not management, I happened to have 3, 5kilo foam extinguishers in the 4by, that I had scored from work, as they were getting rid of them, and I intended to use them down the farm.
My point ... half of one foam extinguisher put out a fire that 2 dry power extinguishers could'nt. It turned out to be a cracked fuel line.
I now will be carrying 2 dry powers and 1 foam extinguisher on all my trips from now on. I think it's worth the loss of a bit of space for the peace of mind of having the right gear for the situation.
Regards,
Bazza.
Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 13:32
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 13:32
Interesting point.
Those small extingushers are only really a feel good measure. As you found out first hand.
Check out FFE's website on what is for what fire, this will also save you a large amount of time while fighting the offending fire!
AnswerID:
74250
Reply By: Rosco - Bris. - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 14:13
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 14:13
2 points Bazza, and please note I'm no firey so could
well be way off the right track.
1. I was always told NOT to open the bonnet, just release it to the safety clip. Releasing it allows for a better draught and more oxygen.
2. Also thought foam would total any wiring etc so may do more harm than good.
Probably wrong on both counts and will await correction.
Cheers
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Bazza - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 14:31
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 14:31
Thanks Rosco, ( and Truckster )
I do have some experience with extinguishers, I service them, and am aware of the right type for the right use.
You are correct regarding not opening the bonnett, especially if you are not experienced in using an extinguisher or confident in this situation. But it is a matter of perspective.... especially if it is your car or 4by turning to toast. As to the use of foam ... it is rated and preferred for liquid or excellerant fires. The flames are going to do more wiring damage that any extingwishing devise.
The point I was trying to make ( perhaps not
well ) was that this situation that I found myself in could happen to any of use at any time, and that ... one or two dry power entinguishers may not be enougth, to cover the possibilities.
Regards,
Bazza.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Clive G (WA) - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 17:52
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 17:52
Dry Chem extinguishers are to smother the fire remove the oxygen that fuels it, I can understand a small dry chem extinguisher will not be enough to smother a
well alit fire, best ever were BCF extinguishers but for good reason are now banned, Its very diffilcult unless youa re there to whether to open the bonnet or not, or attack the blaze first off from under to slow it down sufficiently to open the bonnet to kill the fire. Once again you might as
well through the small dry chem extinguisher at the fire, for what it is worth,
The only problem with carrying a foam extinguisher is , dont knock it over when playing on a narly
hill lol
Clive
FollowupID:
334225
Reply By: Bob H - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 15:09
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 15:09
Day all, Many years aga I was an auxilary fireman with the south coast (qld) brigade and we were called out to a VW on fire. On arrival we used all of our dry powder extingishers and still didnt put out the fire. this is after tipping them upside down a few times on the way to the fire as the dry powder packs down solid and when needed you may not get much out of the ext. we then had no other avenue but to pour
water on the burning motor. this is really not recommended as the motors are an mag/alloy type and the application of
water onto a burning motor makes the mag/alloy spit out at everything. if you get hit by a burning piece of mag/alloy you really know it. MAYBE there is a gov plot to suck us into using/carrying faulty equip. i dont ever carry any dry powder ext for this reason. only foam. worth the peace of mind for the extra space.
Bob
AnswerID:
74265
Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 15:47
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 15:47
VW's are common fires. ASs you mentioned the Magneseium (sp?) is the issue.
Used to drive Animal Bus' on weekend nights and 2ice saw a dak dak on fire at lights!
Not carrying a dry chem is crazy, very universal unit. Use them on everycar but VW.... ;)~
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Reply By: Bob H - Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 18:54
Friday, Aug 27, 2004 at 18:54
Hi Truckster,
After having first hand experiance of the packing down of dry chem ext and not being able to effectively use them even after considerable shaking to loosen the powder up I cant justify depending my life to this form of ext. B.C.F were the best except for the trouble with the ozone. each to their own and i respect others
views on which ext is best for them.
Bob
AnswerID:
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Reply By: motherhen - Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 00:20
Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 00:20
Best fire extingusher you can carry is a carton of tinnies. A few years back we had a cruiser catch fire under the dashboard - an electrical wiring fault caused the fire which rapidly caught hold - disconnecting battery was too late - all happened very quickly and flames were rising up in the wagon - it was evacuation time and bye bye cruiser when some youngsters stopped and sacrificed their beer. A can shaken make a lot of froth. These great
young people saved our car. I've seen a car go up in flames - so much plastic and vinyl and they burn so quickly; we are so grateful to a group of quick thinking teenagers. Motto - carry a carton of beer and keep the cans full!
AnswerID:
74327
Reply By: Snatchem - Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 09:48
Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 09:48
Apart from finding out which extinguisher is best I suppose the old HQ wasn't worth two and a half extinguishers.
Was there much left to salvage?
Snatchem
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Bazza - Monday, Aug 30, 2004 at 08:20
Monday, Aug 30, 2004 at 08:20
G'Day Snatchem,
She was an "old HO" but it had been semi- rebuilt. It did look pretty good ... but a bit second hand now. Major damage under the bonnett.
Regards,
Bazza.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Camper (SA) - Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 17:48
Saturday, Aug 28, 2004 at 17:48
An open 2l bottle of sodawater shaken up with the thumb over the top to maximise pressure and then used to direct the squirt is supposed to be good. Never tried it. Never had the problem. Thank Christ!
Camper
AnswerID:
74365
Follow Up By: Member - John R (VIC) - Sunday, Aug 29, 2004 at 20:23
Sunday, Aug 29, 2004 at 20:23
To all forumites.
Dry Powder extinguishers are the go, my background is a professional firefighter for 25 years and now training industry amongst other things in such things as extinguishers etc..
Other replies are correct when they say the powder cakes in the bottom of the extinguisher when sitting in a vehicle, I recomend every 6-8 weeks pulling out the extingusher from the holder and inverting it several times, you can actually feel the powder moving about.
Dry powder extinguishers are very versatile and will suit any type of fire you are likely to encounter on or in a viehicle, it is always advisable to carry 2 dry powder extinguishers as they somtimes fail. ( afterall they are mechanical and not foolproof)
The old trick with the tinnies is ok, however having used dry powder extiinguishers many times over my career I know how effective they are if used correctly.
Regards
John
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Follow Up By: duncs - Sunday, Aug 29, 2004 at 22:39
Sunday, Aug 29, 2004 at 22:39
Hi All,
I'll back John on this one.
I too have been a professional firey for 24 years, based in
Sydney until 2 years ago. Dry powder is the go in most circumstances. Extrememly versatile and easy to use.
There was a duscussion like this some time ago on the
forum and as I said then, whatever extinguisher you use the most important part of the operation is a calm head. I'm guessing the foam mentioned above was a fair bit bigger than the dry powder.
The other extinguisher that gets overlooked all the time is the garden hose. Now it's no good out in the scrub 'cause it needs a tap but in most suburban streets you can find them hooked onto taps in most front yards. They are very forgiving because they don't run out and you can just keep pouring on the
water. Adjust the nozzle to a moderately tight spray and it will cope with most vehicle fires at least in the early stages
But once again I still recon the most important thing is a calm approach.
Duncs
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