The efficiency of fire extinguishes!!
Submitted: Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 18:28
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Axle
After a relaxing day watching the
Bathurst races, The DJR Racing crash is certainley a reminder of how important a fire extinguisher is , in different circumstances, camping, caravaning, or where highly inflamable fuel is contained in a vehicle, or container,bottle or what ever, things can happen!!
Cheers Axle,
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 19:17
Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 19:17
Got to admire the way those guys used them too - with fire going everywhere, they waded into it to protect the driver who walked out untouched. Very good work.
Great day for sport - I found myself flicking between
Bathurst, the SANFL grand final won by my local team by 3 points, the Rugby won by Aus by 2 points and the F1 where Vettel took out the title......geeze- that was a busy afternoon in the chair! My wife was in front of the other TV watching the Aussies win the Netball!
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 20:01
Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 20:01
LOL!! Phil,.... Thought i was Bad.
Cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Mick O - Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 22:22
Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 22:22
Even more important than carrying a fire extinguisher is fire extinguish maintenance. No point having one if you go to use it and she no work like she's supposed to.
Constant travel can cause the contents of the dry powder type extinguishers to settle and compact. Always a good idea to turn the extinguisher upside down and knock it against a tyre or something firm (But will not damage the extinguisher) to free up the contents. I do this weekly when travelling on the rough outback roads or off country.
You also need to be aware that different fires will not necessarily be extinguished by your standard type powder extinguisher. For example, spinifex gum may continue to smoulder and reignite if hit with a powder extinguisher. Water is your saviour here.
Always
check the pressure dial on a regular basis to ensure your extinguisher still has a pressure charge in it. Handles and trigger mechanism are often plastic and susceptible to damage so also need checking.
Food for thought.
Cheers Mick
AnswerID:
467221
Follow Up By: Member - Toyocrusa (NSW) - Monday, Oct 10, 2011 at 06:43
Monday, Oct 10, 2011 at 06:43
Hi Mick. I ran a Service Station back in the 70/80's. We had a
young bloke fill up a trail bike with an off road (larger) tank that had a small leak. When he went to kick start it it caught fire. A large powder ext just seemed to make a mess and the flames kept burning through the powder. In desperation we grabbed a hose and although it spred the petrol the water evetually put the petrol out. After, the firies arrived and on reflection they said powder was not ideal for that type of fire and to use
BCF at that time (now obsolete) I now carry a 2kg carbon dioxide. I have had to use one twice on small fires in my workshop over the last 10 years and they seem to work
well. Also no powder mess to clean up afterwards. Cheers,Bob
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Reply By: Member - Serendipity(WA) - Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 23:09
Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 23:09
I have one fire extinguisher mounted next to the drivers
seat and a second one mounted in the camper near the cooker. I regularly rotate my extinguishers.
I also have a fire blanket in the camper attached to the front of the fridge - close to the cooker but not so close as not being accessible in a fire when cooking.
I also have a 2 litre pressure pump bottle with soapy water that can have multiple uses like putting out spinifex fires under the vehicle, helping to
seat the bead on a tire or just cleaning the bugs off the windscreen. This pump is readily located in a side compartment of the camper on the drivers side for quick access. One thing I need to setup is a long wire hooking piece to get spinifex out from where it might be stuck.
I think it is a good message to others to know what people do to be prepared when out camping.
I think people might remember the unfortunate camper in Alice caravan park a year or so ago who burnt his camper to the ground when a loose fitted hose on the gas stove lit up the canvas on his camper. There might not have been much he could do as I would imagine it going up very quickly but an easy access extinguisher might have stopped it and a fire blanket over the gas stove might have stopped that too.
Always helpful to share the knowledge.
Cheers
Serendipity
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Brenton H (SA) - Monday, Oct 10, 2011 at 09:31
Monday, Oct 10, 2011 at 09:31
Been thinking about that hooking piece myself, but may already have a few items on board already we could use or rig up in an emergency:
Long metal hook that I use to pull tent pegs out of the ground without bending.
Extendable tent pole with a wire hook
The
metal pole stands for hanging cooking implements over fires
And probably a few others I haven't thought of
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