Fire extinguishers. Professional advice?

[JH1951]

Good come-back!

What started out as a tongue-in-cheek post turned into a pretty good discussion of fire safety issues. Lots of good information that may be of value to others.

I think I should have a royalty claim on fire extinguisher sales in the future.

Ahhhh! So it was tongue-in-cheek as some of us suspected! (The parallel to guns is neatly concealed.)
You deserve an award for building a platform for a very good PSA!
Now, do tell, how many extinguishers do you keep around in a reasonable state of usefulness! I bet it is several!!

 

[old bear]

Over the course of many years, I've used a small home style fire extinguishers three times, twice in the kitchen, and once working on the car. Every time I was able to stop a Small fire before it became a Big fire. Keep an extinguisher on every level of the house, and check them yearly, and replace when needed.

No matter how much they wish to and try to your local F.D. can't always get there on before a real Tragedy occurs.

 

[JH1951]

...........
No matter how much they wish to and try to your local F.D. can't always get there on before a real Tragedy occurs.

Precisely. I have removed too many bodies from fire scenes that should never have been in danger.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I believe statistics clearly show the average "non-professional" homeowner is 3 1/2 times as likely to make the fire worse by taking vigilante firefighter actions into their own hands, especially with a high capacity unit. Much safer just to not get involved (for the children), and let the pro's come and save the chimney. Or something like that...

Seriously, I have used one personally on 3 occasions - a boat fire, a stove top fire, and after managing to light a motorcycle on fire in my garage while working on it. Saved my bacon each time. I do like CO2 when applicable, as it leaves no mess, and does not have the corrosive effect on electronics dry chem does.

Larry

CO2 is the way to go-it has the additional benefit of being able to cool down your beer in a pinch. Old LSU trick

Seriously though, I am a believer in extinguishers both for house and boats. A fire on a boat can ruin your whole day. Make sure you have good ones ( I use Kidde) and make sure they are charged and routinely inspected

 

[Golddollar]

This discussion made me go check on my fire extinguishers. I put the one I used to carry in my gunbelt (more on this later) in my kitchen. Despite its age, that extinguisher was still showing it being in working condition. I moved one I kept in the end of the garage up at the door to the living quarters.

For a little more levity, I attached my picture from a chili cookoff. When I was on the chili cooking circuit, it was a fairly standard rule to have a fire extinguisher nearby. I would wear a gunbelt as part of my costume, and I had a skinny fire extinguisher. I looked at the holster and fire extinguisher, the wheels started turning in my mind, and when I decided to see if the fire extinguisher would go in the holster I found that it fit! I figured the best way to keep a fire extinguisher nearby was to wear it on me. That usually got a lot of chuckles from people wondering how hot my chili was.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

CO2 is the way to go-it has the additional benefit of being able to cool down your beer in a pinch. Old LSU trick

Seriously though, I am a believer in extinguishers both for house and boats. A fire on a boat can ruin your whole day. Make sure you have good ones ( I use Kidde) and make sure they are charged and routinely inspected

There may have been some cross-pollination between LSU students and young soldiers in Vietnam. All the CO2 extinguishers were locked away to prevent us from using them to chill our beer. A six-pack in a sandbag, then discharge the CO2 into the bag, instant chilled beer!

At one time I was assigned at Marble Mountain Airfield, near Da Nang and located on the beach of the South China Sea. I found that I could hide my beer in weighted sandbags underwater for later retrieval at much lower temperatures. Tower guards on the perimeter could see what I was doing so I made a point of sharing my beer to remove any temptation for thievery.

Another place, the only way I found to have cool beer was to bury it in the floor of underground bunkers, typically about 8 feet below ground level. Not cold, but much better than no cooling at all. When the outside temperatures were high the bunkers were always much cooler, so they made a good place to relax with a few beers.

For a while we had a deal with a nearby Marine aviation unit, take 6 or 7 cases of beer over, they were strapped into a F4 Phantom and given a ride at high altitude. We got half, the Marines kept half. Beer was $2.40 per case at that time, but operating cost of the F4 was estimated at around $30,000 per hour, so I owe a sincere (but late) "thank you" to the American taxpayers!

I question any plan that is intended to keep college students or young soldiers from having a cool beer.

 

[andy52]

I have extinguishers placed in easy to find location in my house, garage and shop. The one in the shop would probably be useless if I didn't get the fire put out quickly, if 30+ pounds of powder and 1000s of rounds got started burning my best option would be to run just as fast as my legs could move me. There's nothing that will extinguish gun powder once it starts burning.

 

[timjake]

We keep one in the kitchen, dry powder.


As a flight line mechanic, we had to do regular training with fire extinguishers. The trainers would put jet fuel in drip pans, light it, and we'd have to put it out. The first time I was in the training, two guys walked up and blasted the fire point-blank together. They succeeded in pushing all the burning fuel out of the drip pan onto the tarmac, spreading the fire over a much larger area...which then required the complete contents of both extinguishers to put out. Lesson learned: stand back.

I've only used one outside of training, and that was when I was in elementary school - my brother playing with matches lit paper in the waste basket that was just below the curtains. My parents had bought one from a door-to-door salesman only weeks before.

 

[Dan Carey]

I have one in the kitchen (3lb), one at the bottom of the basement stairs (3lb), one at my workbench (5lb), one near my dryer (5lb), and one in the garage (5lb). My wife thinks I'm over-cautious...she's never been in a house fire. I wish I could send her to the same firefighting courses I took.

 

[GypsmJim]

I have one in the kitchen (3lb), one at the bottom of the basement stairs (3lb), one at my workbench (5lb), one near my dryer (5lb), and one in the garage (5lb). My wife thinks I'm over-cautious...she's never been in a house fire. I wish I could send her to the same firefighting courses I took.

Ditto. I also have one in each car and one in the shed in the back yard.

I only had to put out a fire once in my lifetime, and it was out in seconds. I credit that to the availability of a fire extinguisher, plus every job I ever had required us to learn and use one during a fire drill as part of Safety training.

Last year we attended a fire safety presentation. You know the free dinner and a s pitch. All over priced and we didn't buy anything but we learned a few things.

We now have an additional one in our bedroom.

 

[Walter Rego]

I have a few around the house. They are the Kidde brand, ABC rated and say 7 lbs, 8 oz gross weight on the labels. They are all several years old but the needle on the gauges is still in the 1345 PSI green zone. Are they still trustworthy as long at the gauges show in the green zone ?

 

[steelslaver]

In May of 2009 I came home to smoke come out of my house. I ran to the shop and grabbed my 10# dry extinguisher. Went to the front door of the house and felt it. Not hot. Opened it standing to the side. Pretty heavy smoke, I had no carpet so I went in low and could see flames in the master bedroom, from the door way I could see a fire at a dresser I shot the whole load at the base of the fire and knocked it way down. But, not out. Closed the bedroom door and exited the house closing tthe door. When the fire dept arrived (neighbors told me they had called when I first arrived) where the fire was located and they attacked it there and ventilated the roof and hit it from there too. The rebuild took roof replacement, sheet rock etc, Saved the walls, my lathe and mill in back room, guns in closet, and some other stuff. But, if I had not knocked it down the fire chief said it would have been nothing but rubble. I had insurance, but, near maxed it all out. Would have been worse if I had not had that 10# extinguisher.

I was a certified structural firefighter in a volunteer station in the mid 90s.

 

[Rafterman]

Precisely. I have removed too many bodies from fire scenes that should never have been in danger.

Everybody has it pretty well covered. Check your smoke detectors lately? If not please do so. This, however reminds me that what has been seen can not be unseen.

 

[Bugkiller99]

Firearms and fire extinguishers. Something you keep handy and hope to never use. But never want to be without.

 

[Puller]

Tongue in cheek or not, inexperienced users should take their extinguisher to the 'range' for a test run. Find someone to go with you who has experience. Reloading a fire extinguisher is not expensive and the training would be worth while in the event you really need to use it.

 

[Imissedagain]

Speaking of fires, aboard boats, what do you all use and how do you have it wired if automatic?

Two in the work truck
One in the dirty shop
One in the cleaner shop
One in each bedroom
One in the kitchen
Alarms always serviced.

 

[steveno]

I kept fire extinguishers in my truck and apartment for a quite a few years and the needles were always in the green section. I was curious as to whether or not they worked so I took them out in the country , tried them and of course they didn't work. so I went to places that refills them and was told they were too old and they wouldn't refill. I don't remember the rules on it but it had something to do with the fittings. I went to wally world and they had the same size Kidde's for $14. at that price I can afford to just replace them every few years.

I found this reply

Thanks for the question. I have attached an Official Interpretation from our office that does state this. So in this case I believe you have been correctly advised. As our Interpretation states, the 2007 edition of NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers specifically states:



Dry chemical stored-pressure extinguishers manufactured

prior to October 1984 shall be removed from service at

the next 6-year maintenance interval or the next hydrotest,

whichever comes first.



Now, why 1984? Well I believe it has to do with the UL Listings and the Standards and Testing that has changed.



Any other questions please let me know.



Thank you,



Sean Lindgren #8728

Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal



Nebraska State Fire Marshal

438 W. Market St., Albion, NE 68620

 

[rubiranch]

After reading thru here it made me realize.... I'm gonna die.

 

[steelslaver]

Here is a tip for those with dry extinguishers. Every once in the while take them and turn them upside down, give them a rap with your hand and shake them around a few seconds. The dry chemical can settle to the point that it won't work right. There is some debate about this and it may vary from one manufacture to another. But, it doesn't hurt anything

 

[WR Moore]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this about training. When you replace fire extinguishers, use the old ones for practice/training. Start a small fire in the yard, get family members to put it out. Repeat until out of expired extinguishers. Did this with the kids decades ago.