Fire Extinguisher In Garage

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imported_chewy

New member
I will be moving into a new home in July and have a detached two car garage. Was thinking about buying a 5 or 10 lb fire extinguisher to keep in the garage.



Anyone else keep one for safety?



Curious Chewy
 
Thanks for reminding me! When I bought my house I had to buy one for the kitchen. Now I want one for the garage and one for my car. I forgot all about it.
 
Have one in my garage, kitchen and utility room, although, i need to have them all inspected again, been to long....
 
I actually have 2 large ones mounted plus a small one in the older cars. Can't be too safe.;)



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Is there a minimum temperature restriction?

I need one to withstand a good Canadian winter.

Brad - that's the wirdest looking exting.....oh never mind.

You mean the red thing above the hand cleaner...not that funny looking silver thing.;)
 
Dry chemical extinguishers are not temperature sensitive. The smaller ones are charged with nitrogen at the factory, the 20 pound size and up use carbon dioxide cartridges. Dry chemical extinguishers can be used on the following types of fires



Class A: ordinary combustibles (wood, paper, plastics)

Class B: flammable liquids (oils, gasoline, solvents)

Class C: energized electrical equipment



Dry chem extinguishers are rated for their extinguishing capabilities. A 2A, 10 BC extinguisher wil extinguish a fire in ordinary combustibles covering a two square foot area, a 10 square foot area of a flammable/combustible liquid fire. The C indicates that it can be used on energized electrical equipment. The ratings are based on the amount of fire a non trained person should be able to extinguish. In the hands of trained personnel, the area can be doubled



If you have a fire extinguisher, take it out and read the instructions from time to time. Check the operating pressure at least once a month. Some extinguishers have a pressure test pin in addition to a pressure gauge.Follow the manufacturer's instructions. If there is not enought pressure, the extinguisher will not work properly. Some extinguishers are one time use only, others can be recharged by a fire extinguisher service company. The larger sizes (10, 20 and 30 pound extinguishers) can be recharged



To operate an extinguisher, remember the mnemonic PASS



P: Pull the pin

A: Aim the extinguisher at the base of the flames

S: Squeeze the handle to expel the extinguishing agent

S: Sweep the fire extinguisher from left to right, starting at the leading edge of the fire and pushing it back



Once the fire is out, back away from the fire...never turn your back on it. Always call the fire department if you use a fire extinguisher. Let them investigate the fire and insure that it is really out ( I can't tell you how many fires I have been to that were thought to be out when someone used an extinguisher!)





TooFastGTP...



It' s great that your home has a fire sprinkler system. You should still keep a dry chemical extinguisher in the kitchen, though. A small burst from a dry chem extinguisher can extinguish a fire in it's incipient phase. A sprinkler head reacts when the ceiling temperature reaches the melting point of the fusible link or the frangible glass bulb.



Other important fire and life safety devices to have in your home are smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. I have heat detectors in my garage, which are tied into to my hard wired smoke detector system.
 
Fire extinguishers in Kitchen and Garage.....



ABC 10#.......Bought 2FER kit....expect to replace them once a year since they safe thingy tends to creep down................



Remember them 20# ones get heavy for the little ladies to operate...............
 
Gonzo0903, I am SO GLAD you're on this board. I do some disaster preparedness training in my non-Autopia life. So you can confirm or correct me on a couple of other points:



1. It's my understanding that you should "shake" the dry chem extinguishers at least monthly, in order to keep the powder loose, not caked. Is that correct?



2. The chemicals used in the ABC extinguishers are exceedingly fine (think talc) and will go everywhere. I found the clean-up very difficult (because of the fineness) when I used one -- successfully! -- and ended up with bronchitis due to breathing the chemicals.



3. In addition, it's my understanding that the chemicals used in the ABC extinguishers are quite caustic. I've heard anecdotal reports of silver being etched when the chemicals were allowed to remain. Again: Gonzo, is that true? If so, it gives a warning that we oughta do cleanup very quickly and thoroughly after an event.



4. For small, fairly "enclosed" fires (e.g., in a wastebasket or skillet or maybe even an engine bay), I keep Halon extinguishers on hand also, since they leave no residue. But they are only effecitve in the aforementioned small and enclosed spaces, not in open areas such as the garage. Gonzo, please clarify/correct/amplify as needed.
 
Thanks for the refresher training, gonzo! We had fire extinguisher training at the office last summer. It was all a big joke, until everybody got to pull the pin and spray a fire. :o On the extinguisher I had, that pin was really hard to pull out! I can just imagine struggling with it when I really really need it... I'm a little bit more prepared now, and don't think it's a joke anymore.
 
Lynn said:
Gonzo0903, I am SO GLAD you're on this board. I do some disaster preparedness training in my non-Autopia life. So you can confirm or correct me on a couple of other points:



1. It's my understanding that you should "shake" the dry chem extinguishers at least monthly, in order to keep the powder loose, not caked. Is that correct?
Click to expand...




It's important to give your extinguishers a visual check once a month. It's not necessary to shake them once a month...the contents are stored under pressure and should not cake, but if the manufacturer suggets shaking, then shake them.



2. The chemicals used in the ABC extinguishers are exceedingly fine (think talc) and will go everywhere. I found the clean-up very difficult (because of the fineness) when I used one -- successfully! -- and ended up with bronchitis due to breathing the chemicals.
Click to expand...



I am glad that you had a positive experience in using an extinguisher ( a negative one could have caused death, injury and major damage) The dry chemical is fine to allow it to adhere to the surfaces that are burning. Dry chemical fire extinguishing agents are soidium bicarbonate (baking soda), potassium bicarbonate (Purple K), urea based potassium bicarbonate (Monnex), ammonium phosphate and potassium chloride (Super K). Sodium Bicarbonate is the prevalent agent used in most home extinguishers. The other agents are designed for use by firefighting professionals. The chemical is fine, so inhalation of the sodium bicarb was the cause of your bronchitis.



3. In addition, it's my understanding that the chemicals used in the ABC extinguishers are quite caustic. I've heard anecdotal reports of silver being etched when the chemicals were allowed to remain. Again: Gonzo, is that true? If so, it gives a warning that we oughta do cleanup very quickly and thoroughly after an event.
Click to expand...



Ammonium phosphate, Purple K, Super K and Monnex are extremely corrosive. Any dry chemical residue should be cleaned up as soon as possible, using dust masks for respiratory protection. Ammonium phosphate residue is not only corrosive but can damage delicate electrical and electronic equipment. Any type of electrical /electronic equipment should be cleaned professionally whenever an ammonium phosphate extinguisher is used.





4. For small, fairly "enclosed" fires (e.g., in a wastebasket or skillet or maybe even an engine bay), I keep Halon extinguishers on hand also, since they leave no residue. But they are only effecitve in the aforementioned small and enclosed spaces, not in open areas such as the garage. Gonzo, please clarify/correct/amplify as needed.
Click to expand...



Halon fire supression systems are used in enclosed areas such as computer rooms because they leave no residue. There is a drawback...halons are not ozone friendly (they contain chloroflourocarbons) and they displace oxygen in the area where they are discharged (that's why computer rooms have an audible warning tone for people to get out of the area before the halon system activates!)



Halon extinguishers for home and auto use are extremely expensive to purchase and get refilled due to the cost of the agent and the fact that one of the halogenated agents (Halon 1211, aka bromochlorodiflouromethane) is no longer made.
 
QUOTE .... (that's why computer rooms have an audible warning tone for people to get out of the area before the halon system activates!)...QUOTE



Actually, you can breathe when the Halon system is activated. It's not going to kill you. You will choke and cough, but it won't do any permanent damage. The saturation is only 5-7%; where as CO2 is 30-40%. That will kill you in seconds.



Quick story-

A woman was employed at a bank and somehow she was locked in the vault. After a few hours, she had to make a decision. Which manual station to pull. There were two of them. One for the fire alarm/smoke detection system, the other for the CO2 supression system. Neither were properly labeled (as per NFPA and Life Safety 101), and she assumed they were both the same thing. Well, she pulled the CO2, and she went down like iced tea in August. She died in seconds. Sad thing was, this was later seen on the CCTV system.



BTW, I'm a Life Safety Engineer- I design fire alarm/smoke detection, supression and sprinkler system for a living.



Pete
 
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