What About The Car? Yes, Fires Happen In Vehicles!

Well, we've talked about fire in the kitchen and other parts of the home. We've mentioned that there are different kinds of fire extinguishers to fight different kinds of fires. Is it confusing to choose the right fire extinguisher? NOPE, it's simple. In fact, all you have to do is look at the label and you can usually know what you need in a fire extinguisher.

We have talked about where we should have our fire extinguisher strategically located so as to best be able to get to one in the event of a fire. We have it pretty well covered don't we? Not even close! Let me share a couple of examples.

One day while out on patrol I noticed a little smoke coming from the back area of a parked car. It was just a little smoke. Not enough to really raise the alarm. Oops! Next thing I know, the back half of the car is on fire. What I didn't take into account was that the back of the car was where the engine was in that model. The engine block was made of magnesium which is a metal that burns. When it burns it is white hot!!! In a matter of just a few seconds, the back half of the car was engulfed in flames and my little fire extinguisher wouldn't touch it. The fire department responded in just minutes, but this car was doomed to complete destruction. All the fire department could do was keep the fire contained at the car. The magnesium would not be put out and the fire departments efforts were just enough to contain the fire in place.

Had I hit the little fire with the extinguisher right off the bat, I might have saved the little Volkswagen. That is, if the fire was not already into the engine block. Otherwise, that car was doomed from the beginning. I have seen many car fires over the years and have seen some where little damage was done because a fire extinguisher was deployed in time. I have seen others where damage was less than could have been, because a fire extinguisher was available.

Vehicle fires happen fairly frequently. Have you ever been out on the highway and seen the vehicle shaped burn print on the side of the road? We all have. Many of you have been out on the highway and personally witnessed the fire department working on a vehicle that was smoldering. Just the other day I was out on the highway and saw a semi tractor on fire. Man, that was exciting! They had separated the tractor from the trailer and the tractor was almost fully engulfed in flames. That's a lot of flames.

Well no wonder! Motor vehicles have all the greatest combinations for creating a fire. If all the systems are not functioning as they should, well, there are a lot of things that will burn in a car or truck.

Think about it. You are carrying gasoline, oil, transmission fluid, plastic, rubber, fabrics, and in the case of some vehicles, magnesium and other highly flammable material. Compound that with the fact that you are purposely creating combustion, friction, and all in close quarters.

Many vehicle fires are caused by friction issues. If you have ever followed a loaded semi truck down a long steep mountain pass and seen smoke coming from under the truck, you have witnessed overheated brakes. Sometimes people overload small trailers or trucks and the tires rub. Fires can start this way.

Electronics fill our cars and trucks with all kinds of great gadgets that make our motoring a little easier and fun. However, sometimes electronics fail and wires can be worn through. Create a short in the system and you could end up with the beginnings of a fire.

So let's talk a little common sense here. What can you do with a fire extinguisher? A small fire on the tires? Yes. How about a small fire under the hood? Probably, but you have to remember that if there is a little fire starved for oxygen under a closed hood and you open it, well, you just created a big fire. I have in the past opened the hood just an inch or two and blasted the extinguisher through the small opening. Then opened the hood a little more and blasted again. I have put fires out under car hoods this way, but remember that you are feeding a small flame that wants oxygen. You give it lots of oxygen and it will flare up quick, almost explosively.

Just like the house fire videos I have shared with you, car fires can quickly get to the point where you just get back and let them burn until the professionals show up. To do otherwise puts you in danger of serious injury or worse. Here is a video of a mini van fire on the side of the road. It is fairly long but you can see how intense a car fire can get and what kind of force and effort it takes to put one of these monsters out. Also notice that car fires are not limited to older vehicles. This van is fairly new.

So how bad can it get? Here is a shorter video from San Francisco that will catch your attention. Remember how we mentioned all the different things that can burn in cars. Well watch how this fire spreads. It is through leaking fluid from one of the cars.

You Tube is full of really interesting videos of these fires and the explosions that can result. Look at them and tell me how many of these fires you think would be a great idea to get the fifteen or less feet you need to be to effectively use a fire extinguisher.

Fire extinguishers are great devices that can save property and sometimes lives. Always remember that property is replaceable. If you can safely approach a small fire with a fire extinguisher, by all means, put it out. Otherwise, get back!!! Yes, get an extinguisher for your cars and trucks. Especially your motor homes and trailers.

Motor homes, trailers, and boats are an interesting prospect. Not only do you have all the material for burning that a car would have, but you are going to purposely start fires in them. What am I talking about? Cooking, which also adds the component of hot grease over an open flame, and heating and cooling. Cooling and refrigeration are sometimes powered by open flame. I once had a camper trailer that you had to light a small pilot light, which heated the chemicals in the tubes to create the circulation in the tubes to work the refrigerator freezer. Then we went to sleep inside a small camper trailer full of combustibles attached to a tank full of propane. Whew!

How bad can the situation get in the event of a motor home / trailer/ boat fire? Not to bore you with You Tube video, but this one will answer the question. Note the propane tanks over pressure valve working to keep the tanks from blowing up. Yet, when they vented, they vented propane gas directly into the fire. Pretty dramatic! Not a time for a fire extinguisher.

When is the time for a fire extinguisher as it relates to vehicles? When the fire is relatively small and localized. If the fire has spread through the vehicle, it is time to get back and keep others back as well. Calling 911 is a must and can save lives. The earlier the fire is extinguished the better.

If the extinguisher won't handle it, you need the fire department. Remember from the videos how the fire spread. In the case of the San Francisco car fire, many cars became involved. That fire could have taken the whole city block! How about the motor home fire? Did you notice that even though the surroundings were completely green, they started to burn. Could have burned an entire forest! In my area (northern Utah) where it is much dryer in the hills during the summer, a large mountain wildfire would likely result.

So what do we do? First and foremost, we keep our vehicles well maintained. We don't just slap electronic devices into them without carefully following the manufacturer's instructions. Better yet, have them installed by professionals. We need to frequently inspect our vehicles to ensure that all systems are operating correctly and that electronic connections are clean and free from wearing through the insulation. It is always a good idea to have a cell phone with you. Remember the olden days when you ran to find a phone in a house or business when an emergency occurred? I do!

Yes get a good fire extinguisher for your vehicles! I recently saw an interesting add for a fire extinguisher for vehicles. It was not only a fire extinguisher, but had a special end to break glass in the event the electric windows would not work and the doors could not be opened. It also had a cutter to easily cut through seat belts to free trapped passengers. Look around and check your budget. There are a lot of great products available in hardware, auto supply, RV and boat supply stores.

HAPPY MOTORING and stay safe!

Picking And Using Fire Extinguishers

It has been said that you need to use the right tool for the job. Very true. As you can see from the previous blog, throwing water on every fire is not the right tool. If you have not seen the video on the previous entry, please go back and look it over. I of course got that video off You Tube. I thought it much better to do that than to demonstrate it myself. What I can demonstrate is the fire extinguisher I just bought for our kitchen. No I won't set a fire and blow all the contents out rendering it useless for our home. I will show it to you though. I do have a couple videos to show you that will demonstrate how to use a fire extinguisher and to also let you know there is a point where you just get out and let the professionals deal with the fire.

HERE IT IS!

It is the kitchen fire extinguisher by Kiddie. I picked it up at Lowe's for $18.97. That's not bad is it? Of course not. It stands only 13 3/4" tall with a canister width of 3 1/4" wide. It easily fits under the cabinet on the kitchen counter. We chose to place it on the opposite end of the kitchen counter, so that in case of fire on the stove, we can make the choice to use the extinguisher or run out the back door. Either way the choice is made while moving away from the fire.

Besides what I considered a good price for a worthwhile tool, I liked the fact that it has the gauge on the side like the one's I used at the Police Department. We had good sized extinguishers that could put out a pretty good fire. If you couldn't put it out, you could at least beat it back.

The gauge shows the readiness of the extinguisher and you can tell simply by taking a quick look that it is ready to use. If the gauge shows below the green (in the red for danger), you know it is time to replace the extinguisher or in the case of more expensive models, recharge it. If you look at the photo of the gauge on the fire extinguisher, you will see a yellow needle pointing at the green zone. In the green zone is the word "full". This one is ready for action!

To deploy a fire extinguisher, simply pick it up by the handle, pull the ring (red plastic) out of the handle (pull it right off), point it at the base of the fire, squeeze the handle, and move the stream back and forth across the base of the fire. The fire, if not already out of control, will go out or have been beaten back considerably. This could buy valuable time for your family to get out.

Some fire extinguishers have a metal ring. This one has a hard plastic red ring. They operate the same way (most of them) and are deployed the same way. Always read the instructions that come with your extinguisher and be aware of the rating your extinguisher has. In other words, what type of fires your extinguisher was made to fight.

Even if you successfully put out the fire the fire department should still be called. The heat that has been generated could start the fire up again or smoulder for a considerable amount of time inside the wall or wherever it was burning and flare up again. Fire departments are also experts in the area of hazardous materials and can determine if there are other hazards relative to your particular circumstance.

Types of Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are classed into basically five categories (A, B, C, D, and E):

A - Used on fires involving wood, cloth, paper, and plastics.

B - Used on fires involving flammable liquids like grease, oil, gasoline, & paint.
C - Used on fires involving electrical appliances.

D - Extinguishers for manufacturing where flammable metals are involved.

E - Extinguishers for large kitchens. Oil/Grease fires.

We chose a B/C extinguisher for our kitchen because B/C fires are what you usually see in the kitchen. According to statistics, most fires in the kitchen are started on the stove or with other appliances. We expect a lot from the little electric motors in our kitchens. When electric motors in mixers and other like devices fail, fire can result. The B/C rated extinguisher is perfect for these kinds of fires.

That's not to say an A/B/C extinguisher wouldn't work in the kitchen. Of course it would, but we will have other fire extinguishers available in the house. How many extinguishers should we have in our homes? Well, according to several fire associations, we should have an extinguisher in the kitchen, the garage, and all levels of the home. My home in other words should have five fire extinguishers. FIVE! That's a lot of money! Well, don't just rush out and buy five fire extinguishers all at once if you can't afford it. Pick one up every month or when the budget will allow, but get them.

Here is a little video put on the by the Glendale Fire Department that I think shares a lot of valuable information. It's great to have someone tell you how to do something, but much better to see.

Now let's not try to be heroes! If there is a little fire on the stove, put it out. If the fire gets large at all, GET OUT! The flames are not the only hazard. The smoke, heat, gasses, and the speed with which fire spreads are all deadly threats. We all have a great deal invested in our homes and the belongings we house there. None of us want to loose any part, much less all, we possess. That is what insurance is for. That is why we take precautions, like buying a fire extinguishers. It is why we are cautious about our cooking areas and garages. We want to prevent any fire hazard we can to protect our investments, but what is most important? Our loved ones. I can rebuild my home and do anything as long as I know my family is safe. That is what it is all about.

I have included a You Tube video here that demonstrates how fast a fire spreads in the home. Watch it a few times. There is much to be learned from it about how long you should take to fight a fire yourself. It might give you clues as to whether or not you should even move in the direction of the fire at all. I don't care how big a fire extinguisher you might have, if the smoke is thick, dark, and low, just get out of there. Notice the narrator's information about heat at the varying levels of the room. Could you survive the heat even though the flames are not particularly close to you? The answer is no.

From the video we just watched we saw how fast a fire can spread. We need a plan! Fire extinguishers are a valuable part of that plan, but not the total answer. If in two minutes a room can flash over, it is obvious we need to know how to get out of the house from any room without going back into the house. Our children need to know how to get out of the house and where to go. Our home has a fire hydrant out at the front corner of the property. Our children were taught to get out their windows and go to the fire hydrant. It things were to hot there, they were to go to the same spot across the street. We used to practice it from time to time.

There are many sources on the Internet that can help you in your search for the right information for home fire safety. I encourage you to do some research on the subject.

Thanks for looking in and stay safe in your sensible homes.

Dan