Spinifex assistance fires in vehicles

Submitted: Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 20:30

ThreadID: 43301 Views:3238 Replies:8 FollowUps:6

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Member - Brian H (QLD)

I not sure if i read a topic on it here, or a mag .......... but it was about someone working on ways to put the fire out once started in a vehicle. I had a feeling it was a fire officer in country NT.

I am working on the same and would be interested in making contact with this person.

In addition to the above I need some information from people in areas that have spinifex ........ once a fire starts what is the resin like ........ the consistency of honey, melting bituman ???

Brian

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Reply By: Peter 2 - Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 21:37

Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 21:37

Burning melting bitumen. Extremely hard to put out.

You cannot be too careful with spinifex as it will ignite from the heat generated by rubbing on the tailshaft if it gets packed around the transfer case or crossmembers.
Friction from anything rotating will start it let alone the heat from exhausts.
We had a petrol cherokee with us on one trip and the cat converter would set fire to single stems as it drove along, the driver had to be very careful where he stopped as it would set fire if stopped over a patch of grass or spinifex.

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Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:01

Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:01

Peter you say its like melting bituman? ........

Brian

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Follow Up By: traveller2 - Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 08:21

Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 08:21

It depends on what the season has been like too, sometimes the green spinifex will burn better than the dry stuff if there is lots of resin in it.
When it is in flower with seeds on top it is usually quite greasy with the resin and will pile up and stick to pretty much anything under the truck, even more so if it is hot. When it is very dry and brittle it's lost most of its resin but is just as flammable.
Fire extinguishers are virtually useless, as has been said heaps of water up against the floor and on top of the flames.
We also keep 1.25L PET bottles full of water on hand with a second cap with a 2mm hole in it, heaps of water quickly when you squeeze. Also those litre hand sprayers with water/detergent mix which are also used for hand washing.
We keep leather gloves, wire hook and the pressure sprayer on hand when there is a risk.
Frequent checks under the vehicle are a must, I've done it in 100 yard intervals at times when the grass is thick.
Get to know your vehicle, where it collects grass etc. where the fuel lines and rubber hoses are etc.
Modern vehicles with plastic shields underneath are a worry too as the shields will burn if there is a fire.
If you do have a fire under a vehicle make sure that whatever is on top of the floor inside isn't smouldering from the heat underneath too.

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Reply By: ross - Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:01

Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:01

I saw that but I cant say where .I cant even remember if it was on the net or in a mag.
I do remember he said the best way to fight fires underneath your vehicle was to carry one of those weed sprayers that that you pressurise with a hand pump. The bigger the better.
He also had some good advice on powder fire extingushers. Shake them up and you should feel the powder moving around but not a hard lump.
Fire extingshers need to be of a decent size 8-9 kgs minimum I think.
H also said they dont work well underneath vehicle upside down.

Now come to think of it ,it may have been in a list of things in a magazine to do and not to do when offroad. It had a pic of that late model silver Prado that went up in 20 min.
I usually read 4wd Monthly;)

AnswerID: 227758

Follow Up By: Member - Brian H (QLD) - Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:22

Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 at 23:22

Yeah the Dry Powder will be next to useless under the vehicle ........ As for shaking the powder extinguishers that is very correct, I do mine once every couple of weeks.

You maybe correct in 4wd monthly may just ask them as well. Just had a feeling it was mentioned on here but cannot find it.

Thanks
Brian

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Follow Up By: Kev M (NSW) - Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 15:29

Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 15:29

It was in 4WD Monthly about Feb 07 edition from memory, We then had a lengthy discussion on here also about it with pics posted.
I can not seem to find the post number as yet will keep looking

Cheers Kev

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Follow Up By: mike w (WA) - Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 22:42

Friday, Mar 16, 2007 at 22:42

Some good points, as even out of a 9kg powder, you will only get, from memory, about a 110 seconds of effective extinguisher.

As for using them upside down, you are correct, they wont work except for any powder that is in the pick up tube. All the powder moves to the head of the extinguisher, the opposite end from the pickup. The nitrogen gas will expel, but that doesnt really do too much as far as extinguishment.

As mentioned, it is good practice to invert your extinguisher every now and then, as the powder can pack quite hard- especially with the constant vibration and jarring from 4wding. A good thing to do is to give it a light tap with a RUBBER MALLET on the base whilst upside down, as this will assist in freeing up the powder. Also, it doesn't hurt to leave it sitting upside down for a good 10-15 minutes, to let gravity do its thing.

However, as mentioned in another follow up, it would be good practice to carry a pressure sprayer or the PET bottles, as they are atleast refillable whilst on the road, whereas a powder is a once use where it then needs servicing, even if you have only used a small amount of powder, as the valve design unfortunately means that powder will get stuck under the seat, which will result in the gas discharging over night