Lets see your FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

[mdbeck1]

That's cool......the internet is hard to tell the intention of meaning......

sorry i called you out......

but i'm sure someone was thinking it!

No blood. No foul.

Next.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

My Badger which is a 10 lb 60BC according to the label, came out of a kitchen of a Chinese food court business that my girlfriend was managing. The Extinguisher service guy came around, first visit since she started managing the business and informed her of the new (at that time) requirement for a Class K wet chemical extinguisher for grease fires (in addition to the built in unit in the hood). I wound up with the old unit. Took some cleaning to get the grease off of it. The FX service guy took it to the truck and disassembled the valve and inspected it and repressurized it before I took it home. Rooted around in the junk box and found an old bracket to hang it on. (pulled the second seal off by the way)

The new extinguisher is a First Alert 10 lb 4A 60BC it came with a bracket that I bolted to a beam clamp and mounted (moved the tag to the bracket behind the extinguisher)

The third extinguisher came from a flea market. The young lady selling them said her brother worked for a FX service business and they had a bunch removed from a failed business. He gave them to her to sell to make some money. She said he had inspected all of them before he gave them to her. I picked the nicest looking one, which turned out to be a short fat Badger 10 lb 4A 60BC model. Didn't have a bracket so I took a long 1/4 bolt and cut off the head and bent the end up 90 degrees and screwed it into the beam clamp with a jam nut and lock washer, perfect hook. (yes, the barrel is empty, no fumes, nothing)

As far as beating on them with a mallet, about 25 years ago, I was the Chief Mechanic (and the only mechanic) for a Fortune 500 corporate flight department. One day a young kid from the FX service company came in for the 6 mo inspection and I noticed that all he did was run around and put tags on all the units and leave. I called his boss and told him I thought there was more to this than putting on a tag, and he got mad and said he would take care of it. Later in the day, the same kid, now angry, returned and proceeded to turn each extinguisher upside down and beat the living daylights out of them with a rubber mallet. Several were dented on the bottom as a result. Again I called his boss. I learned later that they fired the kid that day when he returned to their shop.

Since then, I have turned extinguishers upside down and shaken them, and if I do use a rubber mallet, I do it VERY gently on the rim with it perfectly vertical upside down, just once or twice. I now know to not do even that, just a good shake.

The signs by the way are stiff thick fiberglass with screen printing on them, not the self stick decals. I mounted them with carpet tape. From Grainger, its a Brady #71655, Grainger number 5T276. 24 inches high, 4 inches wide.

Thanks for the tips Fireguy!

Charles

 

[d110pickup]

Those are smoke alarms, right? I can't use smoke alarms in the garage, since welding will trigger them. I'm looking for heat alarms -- which I don't know much about, but think would work better.

Jack,
I've got four heat sensitive units mounted at about 14' high (per my alarm company & the manufacturer) and two smoke alarms at the peak of my building. The alarm company owner wired a switch for the smoke alarms so I can turn them off if I'm making a lot of smoke (typically the plasma cutter on dirty steel). When the smoke alarms are turned off there is a visible red indicator. This is mounted by the light switches and the usual entry door. Your alarm company can probably do the same for you.
Mike

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The car ones are completely friggen useless.

Well, not entirely. In the late '70s I used one (little, cheap, car extinguisher) to put out a carb fire on a fairly new Granada (I think it was). Lady was grateful, but later I found out it was the wife of a college professor in the department I worked in as a student assistant (I worked for the prof in the next office, but we all knew each other). When he put two and two together and realized I was the guy who "saved" the car, he told me he wished it had burned. Apparently it was a real lemon and had been to the dealer numerous times.

Charles

 

[fireguy]

Charles (in GA) can you post a picture of the beam bracket? Those brackets are handy for mounting other stuff on the beams. Much faster and easier than trying to drill into the beam. We use them alot. Fastenal also has them.

The double sided sticky tape is also available from the NAPA parts house. When mounting the FX signs on drywall, I ask the secretary for thumbtacks.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Charles (in GA) can you post a picture of the beam bracket? Those brackets are handy for mounting other stuff on the beams. Much faster and easier than trying to drill into the beam. We use them alot. Fastenal also has them.

Here Ya go.

Home Despot and Lowes have the beam clamps in all sizes.

Charles

 

[bradleys]

Here is my "fun" fire extinguisher.

It has a 2000 litre tank with an engine driven pump.

 

[fireguy]

Thank you Charles (InGA)

Blaine, those UniMogs are very well suited to wildland fires. I first saw pictures of them from the Barrens in NJ. What is really cool are all of the options available. Where do you get yours serviced? I saw a new UniMog at O'Brians (then Portland Freightliner) when I was having service work done on my Sprinter.

 

[fattogatto]

Honestly I don't know, just part of the federal flag rules or whatever they call it. Obviously it's not a law just guidlines to follow.

"(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling."

That is a direct quote from United States Code Title 4 (aka "Flag Code"), section 8. And it is not a guideline but a Federal statute (I.e. law).

 

[buddyboy]

This is a U.S. federal law, but there is no penalty for failure to comply with it and it is not widely enforced.

guilty = yes
penalty = Zero

 

[bradleys]

fireguy,

I do all my own work on my Unimog. They're actually very easy to work on. I can sit up under the truck. Plus, there are no computers.

Parts are readily available. There are two extremely good parts suppliers here on the west coast.

 

[trbomax]

Here's mine!

 

[Gonzalo Bravo]

on of a couple...

 

[MP&C]

This is the only one I have a picture of, but here's one right on the welder.....just in case. Also have a couple others in the shop, one on either end of the paint mixing table, for access from either side.....just in case.

 

[Bfoughty]

I have 2 10 lbs. ABC extinguishers. 1 by each door.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think I need to read this thread tonight.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think I need to read this thread tonight.

Fianlly getting a chance to read this thread, now it will go back to the top.

I have a 3A:40BC in the house and one in the garage. TheY are both Kiddie brand. I do need to upgrade them, no doubt about that. I also have a few more in the garage.

The two on the right are water extinguishers and are charged up and ready to use.



Here's a few things to keep in mind.

Know how to use your extinguisher. Somebody that knows how to use one can be more effective with a smaller one than an unknowledgabe person with a big one.

Call the 911 or the fire dept. Get them there and let them check things out. They may have a thermal imaging camera and see things you don't. You already pay taxes, use that to your advantage. Most insurance companies want a copy of a fire report anyways.

Mount your extinguisher by the door. Generally in a home garage, mount them by a door.(in a large commericial facility/bldg, consult your local FD for placement) If you feel that you can put out the fire then put it out, if not, get out.

Try it before you use it If you're going to use it, pull the pin and approach the fire. Before you get to close, give the extinguisher a quick squeeze to make sure it works. If it doesn't, get out.

Get close enough to use it. You can't be across the room to use an extinguisher. You need to be close enough to feel the heat, before you start attacking the fire. If you try, get scared or are afraid, then get out.

Sweep across the fire. When you do make the attack, squeeze the handle and sweep across the fire. Don't blast directly at the fire. If you have apan of grease buring in the kitchen, and point it directly in the pan, you will blow grease all over.

Don't turn your back on the fire. Simple enough ? Whether you put it out or can't put it out, do not turn away, back away and keep your eyes on the fire and get out.

If you haven't guessed, the most important thing, I try to stress is to get out. When we do fire safety for the schools, the thing we repeat the most is this;

Get out and stay out!

Everything in the house/garage can be replaced, you can not be replaced.

For those of you wondering, the framed picture is our ladder truck. It was the Jan '06 calendar truck for KME. It is one bad mambajamba thanks to the citizens of Bucyrus.

 

[Art From De Leon]

The two small ones are Halotron, one for the kitchen, and one for the pickup. I cannot remember what, if any, I put in my wife's care. The larger ones are dry powder of some kind.

I went thru two firefighting courses when I worked in the North Sea, one at RGIT in Aberdeen, and the other one was in Rotterdam. The fun parts were the AFFF training and the smoke house.

 

[Auzivision]

Somewhere I heard that Halon was the way to go with car extinguishers so I picked up one of these a while back.

I was told if I ever suspect an engine fire to only crack the hood and discharge entirely through crack. That is after removing the key to ensure the fuel pump relay kicks off. Another one of those drills, I’ve thought about, rehearsed, and hope to never have perform.

Engine and interior fires I’ll take a stab at… if my cats or anything else down under catches fire… time to evacuate!


Following are a couple picks of an engine fuel fire from last week. A fire extinguisher may have save this shark.

These are from an electrical fire. This guy wishes he had Halon or CO2, but was glad he had something on hand to save his shark. Dry chem cleanup up isn’t that difficult considering the alternative.

This is from a cat fire. The guy managed to get out by breaking a window using his iPod. Never though about what I’d do if trapped in a burning car and try not to think about it.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforu...dream-is-over-my-928-burns-to-the-ground.html

 

[Jack Olsen]

According to a report in the Gated Wye, a publication of the State of Oregon FM office, approximatly 93 % of fires reported to the FD are put out or controlled by portable fire extinguishers. However, most fires are never reported to the FD.

Blame this board -- I'm out some more money. But better prepared.

I'm still looking for a H20-filled unit, but today I got the last pair of Amerex extinguishers. I'll put the Kiddes somewhere else, but won't depend on them.

I also got a pair of heat sensing (and rate-of-rise) alarms, and I'm going to put my disconnected smoke detector back in, this time with an on/off switch for when I'm welding. I'll cross my fingers now and hope the place doesn't catch fire before I get all this stuff installed.

 

[Teken]

Jack,

What did that pile of steel cost you there Sir?

 

[W8MM]

What's the story on Halotron I extinguishers, excepting the price?

Are they the right thing for automotive type fires?

 

[abstamaria]

I just bought large (10 lb.) Halotron extinguishers for the garage and workshop.

I used to use Halon, which is good I understand for A, B, and C class fires. The advantage was that Halon leaves no residue. The dry-chemical extinguishers leave an incredible mess, not good for the vintage cars I have. Halon has of course been unavailable everywhere except the USA.

The only Halon alternative where I live is Halotron. I am not sure how good it is relative to Halon (or whether this subject has been covered earlier in this thread, which I just discovered and will read more carefully over the weekend).

I considered AFFF as an alternative, but it is not good for electrical fires. It might be ok for automotive fires and in fact that was all that was available, after the Halon ban, for plumbed-in systems for race cars. It should be cheaper than Halotron.

 

[1badmach1]

wish i had this one -----> http://www.carguygarage.com/laclagchfiex1.html

 

[abstamaria]

Having just watched the 1958 horror movie "The Blob," in which Steve McQueen fights off the Blob with a CO2 fire extinguisher (the creature is immobilized by cold and is deposited by helicopter at the end of the movie in the Arctic), I have decided to keep some CO2 fire extinguishers in the garage. Just in case.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Jack,

What did that pile of steel cost you there Sir?

If I remember right, a new Amerex in that size is a little over $100. The used ones were $25.

With Halon/Halotron, it's no longer legal to produce Halon 1211, only to reclaim it from existing sources. So the price is going crazy. Halotron is a synthetic substitute that also leaves no residue after a fire -- unlike dry chemical extinguishers. So if you've got an expensive race motor and you want to have a chance of reusing it after a fire, you want the Halotron.

 

[dankicksass]

I keep those in every car I have and a few of them around the garage in accessible locations, including the tool box, electrical panel, between the doors and next to the grinder. I have some dry ABC extinguishers too but they're boring.

 

[Jared]

I have 2 5 pound dry chems, a 10 and a 15 pound dry chem, 10 pound c02 a piss can and a honda 3.5hp gas powered fire pump in my garage.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Having just watched the 1958 horror movie "The Blob," in which Steve McQueen fights off the Blob with a CO2 fire extinguisher (the creature is immobilized by cold and is deposited by helicopter at the end of the movie in the Arctic), I have decided to keep some CO2 fire extinguishers in the garage. Just in case.

CO2 work good on bats too.

 

[STINEY]

CO2 work good on bats too.

NUTTSGT, where locally is a good place to pick up good extinguishers reasonable?

Oh, by the way, Howdy Neighbor! I probably live within 5 miles of you....

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Those are smoke alarms, right? I can't use smoke alarms in the garage, since welding will trigger them. I'm looking for heat alarms -- which I don't know much about, but think would work better.

Jack, those are extinguisher bottles that have the spray head connected to them. They self-disperse in the event of a fire. Should your Porsche have a short and small fire, they will go off before that Porsche has a chance to burn your house down.

Probably a better link that explains it:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...eyword=extinguisher&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

[CrashTestDummy]

If I remember right, a new Amerex in that size is a little over $100. The used ones were $25.

With Halon/Halotron, it's no longer legal to produce Halon 1211, only to reclaim it from existing sources. So the price is going crazy. Halotron is a synthetic substitute that also leaves no residue after a fire -- unlike dry chemical extinguishers. So if you've got an expensive race motor and you want to have a chance of reusing it after a fire, you want the Halotron.

I've heard halotron is a very poor competitor to halon. Anyone know if that's right? I have a small halon in our race car, but figure the replacement, if necessary, will not be halon.

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

[spaceghost]

in California a 2A 10 BC is the standard for most....however a 4a 20BC is a better investment...

the thing with portable extinguishers is that just having one does not make you a qualified expert to use one...it like buying a mig wleder, sure it is easy but you can still leave pigion weld if you don't know how....

I offer getting a good recahrable extinguisher, service it anaully and take a lesson on how to use it....most FDs offer live fire classes...in the Fire Serivce Technology class I teach at the local Communitiy College, Fire Chemistry and Behavior, I offer to my students, they grab the protable extinguishewr and take it on their way out of the building...use it as a last resort to help you get out...call the professionals first...to often we have found a numnber of protable extinguishers at the origin of the fire...yep employees tried to put it out first and just spread the flames...

And if you have one in your car definitely have it serviced...the dry powder or dry chemical will compact and nothing will come out...

be safe out there....

SG

 

[NUTTSGT]

NUTTSGT, where locally is a good place to pick up good extinguishers reasonable?

Oh, by the way, Howdy Neighbor! I probably live within 5 miles of you....

I should probably know who you are, seeing there is a fox body in your avatar.

Depends how good of an extinguisher you want. Just a basic disposable, you can get at True value, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards or other similar places. If you want a good rechargeable, check out the yellow pages, there should be a few listed.

Or you can stop by BFD and ask for a list. We have a photocopy list of a few places in the area that service them. I'm sure they can sell you one too.

I've seen some water extinguishers at Knecht's in the recycling pile too, not sure on their condition though. You may be able to get one of them, have it serviced and use it again.

 

[ecotec]

i just bought 3 5lb ABC first alert fire extinguishers (3A40BC) at costco this week. they were $33 and change minus $7 instant rebate. they are refillable.

i may buy a really big one as well.

 

[ecotec]

i also bought a sign for my soon-to-be-as-soon-as-we-close garage at home depot.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[6768rogues]

I've got three. One in the back, by the main bench. One by the entrance door. One on the other side, by where I weld. They're all ABC. Hope I never have to use them.

I've thought about a heat sensing fire alarm. If anyone's got a cheap path to setting this up, I'm all ears.

Jack, there are two kinds of heat detectors, fixed temperature and rate of rise. Fixed temperature goes into alarm when a fixed temperature is reached. Rate of rise does not care about the temperature, it goes into alarm when the temperature raises a set number of degrees in a set period of time. In a garage where temperatures can vary, I would use rate of rise. Sophisticated systems can be programmed to various temperatures and rates.
Remember, a heat detector is not considered a life safety device. A smoke detector is. A heat detector can help save your property, though. Heat detectors are typically used where a smoke detector would be subject to false alarms, such as a garage, a kitchen or near a shower.

 

[PCO6]

I have 2 ten pound extinguishers - 1 by each door. I also have 1 four pound extinguisher on each of my mig and arc welder stands and a 4 pounder sitting on my work bench.

 

[STINEY]

I should probably know who you are, seeing there is a fox body in your avatar.

Depends how good of an extinguisher you want. Just a basic disposable, you can get at True value, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards or other similar places. If you want a good rechargeable, check out the yellow pages, there should be a few listed.

Or you can stop by BFD and ask for a list. We have a photocopy list of a few places in the area that service them. I'm sure they can sell you one too.

I've seen some water extinguishers at Knecht's in the recycling pile too, not sure on their condition though. You may be able to get one of them, have it serviced and use it again.

My four-eye, hasn't been turned loose yet. I noticed yours and wondered if I should go check my barn to see if I was missing something... Here's a link to what I'm up to with it... http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=7506.0


I wasn't sure if you had a better source to get extinguishers through the FD. I have a water one, that's a lot of fun when my boys sneak up on me with their squirt guns.
Just thinking I should have a few more, at least one in each barn....

Thanks!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Highland, no, that's a buddy of mine.

We've never met that I know of, but in this small town, I'm sure I've seen you around.