Fire extinguisher comment has me worried

[Scott R]

In a thread yesterday it was mentioned that a "2.5lb fire extinguisher is only good for putting a fire out on a driver." I can't go through another fire, it took the shop a year to put things back to normal after the last one. What should I be using instead to put all of the flames out during an engine or electrical fire?

[cstreit]

If you want serious fire control, a 10lb manual or electric fire bottle system with about 6 nozzles (2 driver, 2 engine, 2 in fuel compartment) is the way to go. Plenty of systems out there ranging from $350 - $HOWMUCH?! from Sabelt, Fire Bottle, and others.

[wayner]

Prevention

[Joeaksa]

2.5 pound will put out a reasonable fire. Have been on fire once, helped with numerous other fires myself and carry a 2.5 unit in every car.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by wayner

Prevention

That is good advice but stuff still seems to happen. Both ends of the risk model need to be addressed

[wildcat077]

Scott,

I mounted a 5lb Halon bottle on the rear tunnell.Started off with a 2.5 mounted under the front seat with a Bray Krause bracket but after seeing some of those fire posts i went with a 5lb bottle,at least it gives you a bit more of a fighting chance ...
Hard to get a good pic with the roll bar and the Sparcos,but it's easily accessible if needed and it passes tech at the track !

Cheers !
Phil

[Scott R]

Well, I'm going to get the 10lb I think, and I'm going to research one of expensive systems posted above. This was over 25k in damage in the end, I think $400 or so dollars is more than worth it. The chemical extinguisher I used to put the initial fire out did it's job but made a massive mess.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

For an electrical fire, a battery disconnect is a good idea - maybe i should get one!!!

Also, even a smaller extinguisher might keep things down until help arrives.

[Mitch Leland]

I have a Porsche friend of mine that says the only reason to have a fire extinguisher in your car is to use it to beat off the " good Samaritan" that comes with his fire extinguisher to put out the fire. He says once your car is on fire it belongs to the insurance company...

[mystro]

Amen brother. Thats my thought. I have good insurance and my life or any body part that might get burned is worth a lot more than a car.

Originally Posted by Mitch Leland

I have a Porsche friend of mine that says the only reason to have a fire extinguisher in your car is to use it to beat off the " good Samaritan" that comes with his fire extinguisher to put out the fire. He says once your car is on fire it belongs to the insurance company...

[Scott R]

The major thing the fire extinguisher did for me was to save the rest of my house from burning down. But it was close.

[Vincent Hill]

Originally Posted by Mitch Leland

I have a Porsche friend of mine that says the only reason to have a fire extinguisher in your car is to use it to beat off the " good Samaritan" that comes with his fire extinguisher to put out the fire. He says once your car is on fire it belongs to the insurance company...

I have never had a "Car" fire but a few Motorcycle fires and always carry a Halon unit in everything. For me, it would all depend on the Fire. Some are easy and others are hard. It would be a Shame to have a small fire that a 1 pound bottle could put out and have NOTHING!

I had a Battery disconnect but it quickly became corroded. Any suggestions for a good one that will stand up to the test of time and not become the problem?

[gtc]

I think that your approach to fighting the fire is much more important than the size of your extinguisher.

I feel lucky to be able to say that I've only had one small vehicle fire - melted through the fuel lines while welding near the tunnel on a 914. Fortunately we got it put out very quickly with very little damage done to the car.

[andyt11]

I have a few thoughts on this topic.

The first is that because it took so long to find the right car, and because I have put so much work into it making it perfect for me, no amount of insurance money is going to replace it. A cheque for $20k isnt the same as having a great 911 on the drive. You'd still have to spend a serious amount of hours shopping again and then who knows what work after the purchase.

The next thought is prevention. There are basically two types of fire that are going to get you. Electrical and fuel. A kill switch would have saved an old VW golf of mine years ago. By the time I got some tools out to disconnect the battery the car was in real trouble, but the second the power was disconnected it all but died out. The porsche now has a kill switch! I'm also in the process of replacing old fuel lines. Some of them are quite dicey in places.

The final thought is 2.5lbs may not be enough in some cases, but to get the best out of it, it could be smart to do some careful reading about the most effective way to use an extinguisher. Maybe even take a course.

For what its worth, I have the 2.5lb halon in the car and a 5lb dry powder in the trunk as a backup. I have used halon and dry powder before, both on burning liquid fires and while the dry powder makes a hell of a mess, it was much more effective at stopping the fire than the halon. I would love a fully built in system but I'm reaching the budget with the missus!

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

That is good advice but stuff still seems to happen. Both ends of the risk model need to be addressed

I agree Bob.

I interpreted it that he already had a 2.5/lb bottle, but no info about renewed gas lines etc.

I have a question though:

If race cars have full on board supression systems, why do we see so many burn to the ground on TV?

I've always wondered that.

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by Vincent Hill

I had a Battery disconnect but it quickly became corroded. Any suggestions for a good one that will stand up to the test of time and not become the problem?

on my street car i use a marine battery terminal that has a wing nut on the ground lug

marine is best

[56 nomad]

Originally Posted by Mitch Leland

I have a Porsche friend of mine that says the only reason to have a fire extinguisher in your car is to use it to beat off the " good Samaritan" that comes with his fire extinguisher to put out the fire. He says once your car is on fire it belongs to the insurance company...

thats a good point not worried about the car as it can be replaced but i recently had to use mine when a driver was stuck in his car after a roll over and we couldn't get him out unless we flamed down...i always carry mine.
just my 2 cents. regards, ben

[ODDJOB UNO]

since i have 1st hand experience with this, i'll comment:


1) having a race car burn up(SCORE 1-2-1600) despite halon and (2) handhelds just plain SUCKS GIANT DONKEY WEENIES!

2) its not just the expense, its the pysch drama that hurts most.

3) street cars no different with the psych drama, and the expense.

4) despite best of intentions and massive amounts of dollares $$$$ to NOT have a fire they still happen.

5) with my showroom stocker cab from hell we wear 4 layers of nomex including gloves and baclava and socks due to oem fuel tank.

6) we have a SPA bottle with (2) nozzles on fuel tank, (2) in cockpit pointed at our huevos, and (2) in eng compartment.

7) (2) hand helds on roll bar each side.

8) they ARE SERVICED EVERY YEAR by ext guy who services our planes and hangers. and TAGGED as SUCH!

9) BIGGER IS BETTER as far as SIZE!

10) we were taught in the USCG on boats, to always carry metal handhelds as the plastic ones (kidde-appropo name) are FLAT FREEKING JUNK and when ya need one they WILL FAIL!



i would NOT OWN NOR DRIVE an air cooled vehicle without the above and all my other vehicles have (2) metal type extinguishers. my work vehicle cuz i werk at an aeropuerto, and have watched 1st hand up close and personal, (2) guys BURN TO DEATH in a crash as i was the 1st responder, carries (2) 10# metal extinguishers.


reality is ..................the spray bottle buys ya time to get the HELL OUT OF DODGE!



fires suck royally and its my biggest fear....................ALWAYS! and i am an azzhole about FIRE SAFETY!

[cdrik915]

Here , we all have that in the glove box , in case of indoor fire or engine fire.

No residues , last a long efficient time , no limit of time for usability.

[PCA7GGR]

"reality is ...........the spray bottle buys ya time to get the HELL OUT OF DODGE!"

I agree - a fire extinguisher/system (racesuit, shoes, gloves...) is there to give you a bit more time to get out of the car and from bodily injury.