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Type of fire extinguisher for home use?

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Type of fire extinguisher for home use? Daniel Prince 04-01-2008
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Posted by z on April 1, 2008, 3:54 pm
>
> > I have read or seen on TV that one should use fire extinguishers
> > that have a hose attached to the outlet because they are easier to
> > aim.
>
> I agree.
>
> > My brother said that a safety expert at his workplace says
> > that one should not use a fire extinguisher larger than a 1A 10BC
> > for home use because larger ones would blow the fire (or burning
> > grease) around.
>
> I hope your brother misunderstood the safety expert. =A0It has been my
> experience that the discharge RATE or "strength" is about the same for
> the smaller units as it is for the larger ones.
>
> > The only fire extinguishers that have hoses seem to be 3A 40BC or
> > larger. =A0Which type should we get?
>
> Get the larger one. =A0In fact, based on FIRST HAND experience, I highly
> recommend that you get as large an extinguisher (ABC-type) as you can. =A0=

> The larger models are of a higher quality, too.
>
> The little ones are just that: =A0Little. =A0They are too little to be
> effective on all but the smallest fire. =A0You would be surprised to learn=

> how quickly they empty.
>
> In the case of my aforementioned first hand experience, a "little" fire
> extinguisher made a very nice, small "hole" in the fire. =A0This
> conflagration required the fire department but convinced me of the LACK
> of effectiveness of the small extinguisher. =A0They have their place (RV,
> boat, kitchen wall, etc) but, if you are purchasing your first
> extinguisher, you should get a large one and keep it in a central part
> of the home, near an exit.
>
> Good luck. =A0I hope you never HAVE to use it.
> --
> =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 :)
> JR

we used to have periodic drills in our office where everybody got to
use the extinguisher to put out a practice fire, under the watchful
gaze of the fire department. i managed to completely empty a middle
sized extinguisher without putting the fire out. so i bought bigger
ones for my house.

AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by Stormin Mormon on April 3, 2008, 11:40 pm
Last year, a fire dept near me had one of those things. They had some fuel
in a pan about six or eight inches deep. I couldn't put it out, cause the
fire was hiding behind the tall edge of the pan. Oh, well.

The answer seemed to be either to get closer, and then I can get dry chem
behind the wall. Or, wait till the gasoline burns off, and then it's a lot
easier to extinguish.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.



we used to have periodic drills in our office where everybody got to
use the extinguisher to put out a practice fire, under the watchful
gaze of the fire department. i managed to completely empty a middle
sized extinguisher without putting the fire out. so i bought bigger
ones for my house.



Posted by Tom Horne on April 4, 2008, 2:23 am
Stormin Mormon wrote:
> Last year, a fire dept near me had one of those things. They had some fuel
> in a pan about six or eight inches deep. I couldn't put it out, cause the
> fire was hiding behind the tall edge of the pan. Oh, well.
>
> The answer seemed to be either to get closer, and then I can get dry chem
> behind the wall. Or, wait till the gasoline burns off, and then it's a lot
> easier to extinguish.
>

The actual answer is to play the stream of dry chemical across the edge
of the container so that the edge splits the stream. That way the dry
chemical ends up being pulled down onto the surface by the venturi
effect of the powder flowing across the edge of the pan.

Always extinguish from near to far and from bottom to top. If your
shooting the chemical past the base of the flame you are fowling up.
--
Tom Horne

Well we aren't no thin blue heroes but we aren't no blackguards to.
We're just working men and women most remarkable like you.

Posted by z on April 4, 2008, 1:22 pm
> Stormin Mormon wrote:
> > Last year, a fire dept near me had one of those things. They had some fu=
el
> > in a pan about six or eight inches deep. I couldn't put it out, cause th=
e
> > fire was hiding behind the tall edge of the pan. Oh, well.
>
> > The answer seemed to be either to get closer, and then I can get dry che=
m
> > behind the wall. Or, wait till the gasoline burns off, and then it's a l=
ot
> > easier to extinguish.
>
> The actual answer is to play the stream of dry chemical across the edge
> of the container so that the edge splits the stream. =A0That way the dry
> chemical ends up being pulled down onto the surface by the venturi
> effect of the powder flowing across the edge of the pan.
>
> Always extinguish from near to far and from bottom to top. =A0If your
> shooting the chemical past the base of the flame you are fowling up.
> --
> Tom Horne
>
> Well we aren't no thin blue heroes but we aren't no blackguards to.
> We're just working men and women most remarkable like you.

of course, as i learned, this takes some practice, and may not be what
pops into your mind when your house catches on fire and you pick up
the extinguisher for the first time. a lot of people can't even figure
out how to get the safety lock off.
on the other hand, nobody is anxious to spend the bucks to have a
practice drill at home and go through a few extinguishers.

Posted by Tom Horne on April 4, 2008, 5:47 pm
z wrote:
>> Stormin Mormon wrote:
>>> Last year, a fire dept near me had one of those things. They had some fuel
>>> in a pan about six or eight inches deep. I couldn't put it out, cause the
>>> fire was hiding behind the tall edge of the pan. Oh, well.
>>> The answer seemed to be either to get closer, and then I can get dry chem
>>> behind the wall. Or, wait till the gasoline burns off, and then it's a lot
>>> easier to extinguish.
>> The actual answer is to play the stream of dry chemical across the edge
>> of the container so that the edge splits the stream. That way the dry
>> chemical ends up being pulled down onto the surface by the venturi
>> effect of the powder flowing across the edge of the pan.
>>
>> Always extinguish from near to far and from bottom to top. If your
>> shooting the chemical past the base of the flame you are fowling up.
>> --
>> Tom Horne
>>
>> Well we aren't no thin blue heroes but we aren't no blackguards to.
>> We're just working men and women most remarkable like you.
>
> of course, as i learned, this takes some practice, and may not be what
> pops into your mind when your house catches on fire and you pick up
> the extinguisher for the first time. a lot of people can't even figure
> out how to get the safety lock off.
> on the other hand, nobody is anxious to spend the bucks to have a
> practice drill at home and go through a few extinguishers.

You are of course right on both points. That is one of the reasons that
many fire departments do not recommend the use of fire extinguishers in
the home. In all too many cases the presence of a fire extinguisher
causes the occupant to delay getting everyone out of the home and then
calling the fire department.

The mantra that we teach to nurses, teachers, day care workers, and
others who have care of children or bed ridden patients is that you must
RACE the fire. That acronym means Rescue, Alarm, Confine, Extinguish in
that order!

If you do plan to fight the fire yourself find an opportunity to train
with the extinguisher type you will use. Community Emergency Response
Teams train on fire extinguishers during their basic training classes.
Many communities have a CERT (NERT) program. If your's has one then
take advantage of that chance to actually put out a fire with an
extinguisher before deciding to risk your life and the life of anyone
that you have not evacuated on your skill with the extinguisher.
--
Tom Horne

Well we aren't no thin blue heroes but we aren't no blackguards to.
We're just working men and women most remarkable like you.

With apologies to the Kipling trust for the paraphrasing.

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