Fire extinguishers -Who has them?

[bubba327]

Who has checked their fire extinguishers lately?? Do you have them in your garage or shop? in your car or truck? do they need recharged??

As the Electrical Inspector for the city Department of Building Safety , I spend time with the City Fire Marshall's during joint inspections and sometime tour fire scenes after the fire.

A fire recently destroyed a local residence as a elderly man was working on his 72 chevy truck.

A fuel pump was being changed out on the truck, some fuel had spilled on the floor, and a propane space heater that was being used to warm the garage flashed the fuel vapors and the garage was soon fully engulfed, and the residence was fairly well destroyed before the trucks got there to put the fire under control.

The man escaped with his life , a few burns and is very distraught, but he will recover. His house, belongings and his classic cars are gone beyond repair.
Regardless if the Insurance will cover the loss or not, The inconvenience and PIA factor of it all is beyond the dollar value.

PLEASE be careful if a fuel load or fuel vapors are present in a garage with a furnace or water heater or space heater with a pilot light!

Store your gas cans somewhere away from your welder or grinders. Store the paint cans in a locker or away from sources of ignition.
Pick up trash, papers or other loose flammable things if you are welding or grinding. propane bottles can go out in the shed away from the garage.

If you have fire extinguishers by all the exits, that is Great!!!!
But they do need checked and recharged. Check the date tag of the last recharge. Time does fly by and geez -are they that old????

Check your yellow pages for a company who can re-fill and certify them. I buy new ones and let my kids use the old ones to blast away on a brush fire to learn how to use them properly. Every body should know how to use a fire extinguisher!!


And as the time changes tonight, Remember to change the batteries in the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors too!!

This is one fire scene that has left me pretty shaken up.

If just one guy checks out his fire situation........................................ it will help

[Dunenutt]

After setting my truck on fire a few months ago, I stocked up on extinguishers! It happens FAST. I could'nt get OH SH... out, and it was one big flaming mess.

Thanks for the reminder!

[pritch]

I have extinguishers-10 pounders-at my attached garage man door and 2 of them at my shop man door. I'm sure they should be checked, though. I have a flammable materials cabinet and an oily-rag can. I hate fires. In my work, I come up with extra FE's from time to time, and I give them to my friends. In 2 cases, these have been used to put out fires, one in a house and the other in a shop. I felt pretty dang good after that, although the guy with the house said he stood there for a good couple minutes deciding if his house was worth saving before he put it out.

[ETsC10]

bubba327, thanks so much for the reminder!
I've got mostly 10# ABC that are checked by the local
Fire Inspector annually.
Each spring they take a trip to the extinguisher place
for certification or drain/test/recharge.

Don't know if it's an old wives tale or not, but I was
told years ago to flip them upside down every so often
and shake them real good. Can't hurt.

I also have a small Kiddie in the truck.

[bubba327]

Originally Posted by ETsC10

Don't know if it's an old wives tale or not, but I was
told years ago to flip them upside down every so often
and shake them real good. Can't hurt.

I also have a small Kiddie in the truck.

I have been told to flip them upside down and shake them also, It is supposed to keep the powder from settling in the bottom.

I carry a small ABC in all my classic cars, and in the city trucks. I have had to use them twice on other peoples cars when they had fires-

People have always replaced them for me and both guys I helped bought some for themselves.

When you need a fire extinguisher - you need it RIGHT NOW and you need it REALLY BADLY!!!!!!!!

[100%Chevy]

As an electrician,I've seen plenty of house fires.
One thing of note-most house fires start in the kitchen or the garage!
Stoves in the kitchen and flammable liquids in the garage.
Both human error!
In my shop,I've had one small fire.It was a short caused by an improperly wired HEI circuit on my car.Wired by the previous owner.
I had a sulfur type(ABC) FE and a water hose.I used the hose.That sulfur makes a big mess!
If you can afford it,get a co2 extinguisher!No mess.
Since the fire,I've put battery dis-connects on all my cars/trucks.I don't want to worry about a fire in the middle of the night.
And, a good rule of thumb is to wait 30 minutes after that last cut,burn,weld to watch for ignition.
Mike.

[66ChevyMax]

I put one in my shope last week. Shop is 7 years old so not so smart on my part but better late than......

[pat 70/71]

I have them all over my cabinet shop. I didn't have one in my e450 box van. I drove it to a shop to have the ac worked on. Ten minutes after dropping it off they start it and the ac unit catches fire! The guy said the fire was so big and it happened so fast it was unreal! the fire damaged the ac unit only no damage to the shop or his person. All is well oh, and I now have fire extinguishers up front and in the box of my truck! cheers,Pat

[chevy_man5]

I have one in the garage, and one under the sink in the kitchen! They are only a couple of months old, so all is well.

Good thread Bubba!

[bubba327]

Update with another reminder-
this is what happens to a Corvette when a house goes up in flames
In the carport next to the garage
No fire extinguishers and all the garden hoses were drained and put away for the winter..... every body got out alive with no injuries ---
BUT -What a mess!!!! the entire house will need rebuilt

[bubba327]

Originally Posted by 66ChevyMax

I put one in my shop last week. Shop is 7 years old so not so smart on my part but better late than......

I did say that if just one guy stepped up and bought one..........It is a good start
Thank you

[64fleetside]

Got them in my truck, all over the shop & house both-kitchen, LR, washroom; can't have too many, never needed one but have them.

[PanelDeland]

Two in the attached garage,one under the sink and I'm about to buy one for the deck.Just realized when I read this thread,I use that grille and it has far in it.