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Fire Extinguisher Disaster.

Zoomup
A customer of mine had a new 6kg powder fire extinguisher in its cardboard box in the back of his van. The fire extinguisher was not installed in its holder as per its instructions. It just slid about in the back of the van bumping about as the van hit pot holes.


Unexpectedly  the extinguisher automatically discharged filling the van with  powder while my customer was driving it. The customer's old dad was in the van at the time as a passenger, and it was difficult getting him out quickly from the powder laden air inside the van. Both men had to attend hospital to be checked over.


A lesson to be learned there I think.


Z.


  • 0
    I much prefer CO2 fire extinguishers to dry powder.

    All my vehicles and several rooms in my house have at least one.

    The problem with dry powder is that unless the extinguisher is regularly upturned and  shaken the powder clumps together at the bottom and won't work properly after a while.

    (Perhaps allowing it to roll around in the van was a good idea)

    I've seen them completely fail on occasions, particularly small ones.

    Whereas with CO2 there is very little that can go wrong with it.

    As long as the horn and pipework are examined regularly and the extinguisher weighed they last forever.
  • 0

    Alasdair Anderson:

    Another point is if you do fit a fire extinguisher in its holder, think about where to fit it for ease/speed of access. The most likely location for a fire is the engine compartment, so I was astounded once to spot a fire extinguisher someone had mounted on the underside of his car's bonnet....




    There are two issues here. 1. If you are trapped in the car and need to use the extinguisher it is best to be within arm's reach. Some people have it fixed by a bracket under the front of the driver's seat for example. But an engine fire will probably require a person to exit the car and blast the engine from the outside with the bonnet just slightly open.. or through the front engine grille.


    2. If the fire extinguisher is mounted on a bracket inside the rear boot (trunk) it encourages the driver to exit the vehicle quickly in case if fire, which some experts suggest is a good thing. 


    So, just which is the best location for a fire extinguisher?


    Personally I have more than one fire extinguisher in my vehicles, mainly powder. But in the warm weather when freezing is not a problem I have foam types as well. B.C.F. was good and clean, but is now outlawed due to ozone layer depletion problems.


    Z.

  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Some really good points here - I'd heard about the keys and the lanyard thing - Those airbags go off with a hell of a lot of force!


    I've forwarded this thread over to our H&S guy to bring up at the next meeting, definitely a lesson or two to be learned here!
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    A comical episode was with my shift fitter. He was really annoyed after we had been messed around on a “non job” and he kept on hitting the dashboard. The air bag went off and I was laughing so much I nearly drove in to the river that ran alongside the road.

    “non job” a fault that wasn’t a fault but we had spent ages looking for it!

  • 0
    Another point is if you do fit a fire extinguisher in its holder, think about where to fit it for ease/speed of access. The most likely location for a fire is the engine compartment, so I was astounded once to spot a fire extinguisher someone had mounted on the underside of his car's bonnet....
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Just to add to the list of things not to do, then - try and avoid hanging things around your neck and not taking them off when driving


    I've just circulated a few bits for people to use in the safety moment section of any planned meetings - these are cases where keys on a lanyard, and an ID badge on a lanyard were explosively driven into a bowel and a lung respectively following a vehicle collision where the driver airbag deployed


    Stay safe


    OMS
  • 0

    mapj1:

    ... and once an escaped cat on the way to the cattery....



    Been there, done that. The wife brought a cat into our marriage, but when she was away visiting relatives overseas one evening, he had a fit. I thought that I should take him to the vet before Mrs P came home. He was a fine cat, and not a bad mouser, but he had a nasty habit if he was put in a cage and taken anywhere. About a mile down the road, he would have a tom tit. ? I thought if I left him free, all would be well. It was, and he didn't relieve himself, but it was a bit difficult when he decided to lie by my feet - i.e. under the brake pedal. ?
  • 0
    IMHO, AFFF is a much better option. Dry powder makes a right old mess of things even when used as intended.
  • 0

    OMS:




    Zoomup:

    A lesson to be learned there I think.

    Z.


     




     

    I suspect so - I'd suggest we let Darwinian selection take control, but at least one of them has already managed to populate the gene pool 


    What did your customer really think was going to happen with a loose extinguisher rolling about  - even if it didn't release, it was a missile just waiting to be launched into the back of someone's head in collision


    I hope the Hospital send them a bill


    Regards


    OMS




     

     




    Some deep thinkers believe that there is no such thing as freedom of thought or actions. Darwinian "progress" is controlled by pre-programming not free will. "I think therefore I am pre-programmed" a clever bloke once said. The "B" movie "The Adjustment Bureau" touches on the subject slightly if you can bear to watch it in its entirety.


    Z.


     

  • 0
    Unlucky, as most fire extinguishers have some sort of clip or pin that needs removing, and a simple knock won't do it.

    A number of possible fixes -

    preferred is probably to fix the fire extinguisher

    or to at least guard the trigger in some way

    second is not to leave it in the van, and avoid having fires

    third is not to carry passangers you can't get out quickly if the vehicle is not in good condition.

    4th is to consider an extinguisher chemistry less likely to injure the occupants - is it in case the van catches fire or for removal to use where he is working  ?

    If the latter dry powder may be not the best option (CO2 for sparks and  water for plumbers)



    Mind you I'm probablky as bad, I had a moment earlier this year where the car filled with solvent cleaner at one point when the aerosol can got squashed by some camping equipment sliding about, and over the years I have had various things get under the pedals, like mats and my sandals, and once an escaped cat on the way to the cattery....


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