Two Senior Citizens Wake Up To a Minor House Fire

[tooljunkie4]

Three scenarios:

1) Lithium-ion power tool batteries that they insist on charging indoors have somehow started a fire.

2) The dry pine wall framing or exposed pine floor joists are ignited either directly or indirectly by a fire in the basement wood stove insert.

3) Some intrepid soul has set up a small-scale spray painting operation in their basement - near a wood stove. At some point in the night, it all goes kablooey, igniting the pile of unused oak millwork and/or the dry pine wall framing / exposed pine floor joists.

In all three scenarios, they are fortunate enough to have discovered these situations before the house and their own lives are forfeit.

I need to shop for fire extinguishers that even a geriatric heart patient with REALLY poor eyesight could grab, lift, and operate effectively in each of these situations. Heavy cleanup afterward is not a concern. Immediate and lasting impact on heart and lung function are concerns - as is saving the structure.

Assume the local FD would be called to ensure that the job is wrapped up properly.

Which (multiple) extinguishers would you folks recommend for these conditions?

 

[johnre]

Long thread here regarding garage extinguishers; might want to read through the answers there - I've found it helpful. Regarding your scenarios, there's no one correct answer, as you might expect:

Safety in the garage..

This came to mind with the PPE thread. How many of y'all have a quality fire extingusher in your garage or your house? By quality I refer to an actual metal head fire extinguisher, not the plastic head throw away type. I have three, one 2,5 pound ABC on the leg of my bench, one 10 pound ABC...

www.garagejournal.com

Personally, I keep a 3:A-40-B:C in the woodworking shop, as there's a lot of fuel there to feed a fire, and one that's about half that size in the garage bay.

 

[tooljunkie4]

I read that thread, and another on the topic of Halotron extinguishers for cars (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/fire-extinguisher.517445/). I'm not so worried about garage fires or about avoiding corroding aluminum components. This is more about wood fires (and, separately, about lithium-ion battery fires) within the home - to be dealt with by the elderly and infirm. I don't need one extinguisher that will cover both situations. I'm looking for recommendations for separate extinguishers for each situation, while taking into account specific age and health factors. I don't mind buying more than one of each just in case.

 

[johnre]

Regarding your wood stove and surrounding exposed framing, I would think your situation similar to mine - you need some volume of extinguisher to put out a reasonable fire, and you don't care about the residue it leaves behind. I keep my bigger 3:A-40-B:C around mostly because of the 20 gallon sawdust collection bag on the dust collector, and the fact it's got a 40' metal duct run leading up to it. Moving particulate at high speed can build up static charge, and a spark formed in the ductwork would be dropped onto a lot of fuel.

Can't help much on the Li ion; I have to depend on this same shop extinguisher as that's where I charge the bigger packs (up to 95 W-h), but I know there's probably better solutions out there.

 

[esben57]

Over this side of the pond, I would say having a fire extinguisher in house is not even considered by 99% of the population.
I do, although it is seriously lightweight needing bigger item(s).
Saw a house fire tragedy on my road some years ago. Overloaded socket outlet. Local fire station sighted 30 SECONDS blue light drive away. Someone had set light to a garden shed elsewhere and so those fire bobbies were at that. Next nearest station crew battling traffic, too late by the time they arrived. Saw some very brave people trying to help that day. I held onto ladders. Local fire crew were in pieces, knowing they could have saved life if they were able to attend. That really cut deep.
If you don't have extinguishers, get at least one. And have a plan.
A few years later, a young woman had her Toyota Yaris start to smoke and catch fire. I ran back to my house for the extinguisher and thankfully managed to dowse the flames. Local crew turned up pronto and made sure.

 

[gba2331]

1) Lithium-ion power tool batteries that they insist on charging indoors

Who charges batteries outdoors?

 

[johnre]

Who charges batteries outdoors?

If I owned a Hyundai or Kia EV, I think it would be charged outside.

 

[gba2331]

If I owned a Hyundai or Kia EV, I think it would be charged outside.

Your power tools are run by your Kia?

 

[johnre]

Your power tools are run by your Kia?

I have more dependable batteries on my power tools that have actual working and tested failsafe circuits - unlike, apparently, Hyundai / Kia!

But the Hyundai / Kia EV part of it is purely theoretical; I wouldn't own either one of these brands if at all possible.

 

[Jeepster04]

I charge my li-on batteries in the middle of my garage on the concrete floor. I dont like those things.

 

[aggie113]

Assuming they can hold 10 lbs or at least move it around, the Amerex 5lb units would serve them well. No extinguisher is going to help with a lithium fire so from there you can decide if you want a powder or CO2 unit for putting stuff out. Various scenarios for either.

 

[BrandonV]

I charge my li-on batteries in the middle of my garage on the concrete floor. I dont like those things.

The guy around the block from me said a drill battery started the fire in his garage. Not sure if that is the full story but those things are a tad scary.

I might be paranoid but I store the batteries in a metal box.

 

[danski0224]

The guy around the block from me said a drill battery started the fire in his garage. Not sure if that is the full story but those things are a tad scary.

I know someone that just about lost his house to a DeWalt battery being left on a charger. It was a TOTAL gut job remodel.

I was on a job where a smoldering Milwaukee battery charger set off the fire alarm and the FD showed up. Fireman said that this was not exactly uncommon.

Both of these incidents happened a long time ago, back in NiCd or NiMh battery days. No reason that it couldn't happen again, given a consumer grade rechargeable tool battery and charger.

I still will not leave a tool battery on charge unattended or just leave it in the charger, plugged in.