Always carry a fire extinguisher

Gollnick

Gollnick

Musical Director
Joined
Mar 22, 1999
Messages
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Hey, KV, you're not the only fireman on the forum today.

I came around one of the curves on Tonquine Road a few minutes ago just moments after a nasty accident involving a small car, an SUV, and a motorcycle. The engine compartment of the car was torn open and in flames. Fortunately, I carry a fire extinguisher in my trunk. For being a small extinguisher, it shot out a whole bunch of powder and put the fire out instantly which was very important since when I then went to check the driver unconcious in the car, I was hit by a powerful waft of cheap vodka. There were several broken bottles of the stuff in the passenger compartment. I suspect that if I hadn't got the engine compartment fire out, that vodka would have gone up shortly.

My Surefire 6P helped us get the back door of the SUV open and then clear away a bunch of furniture that was wedged behind the passenger seat and that allowed us to relieve the pressure on the woman trapped in it. We didn't move her any further since she is obviously seriously injured.

It's raining, so I gave my St. Paul Saints jacket to the woman who was the passenger on the motorcycle and was clearly going into shock. Her boyfriend is holding my umbrella over her.

I'm now retreated to the heated comfort of my Mercedes and using my Sidekick to post this real-time (same Sidekick I made the 911 call from) and watching about 30 real fireman (Like KV) extract the two trapped people, deal with the couple from the motorcycle, and clean this up.

The police officer who was just here said it'll be another hour before I can move (I'm parked in by fire engines).

The police man who was just here asked "You are the one with the fire extinguisher, right?"

"Yes."

"That was very important, you know."

So the moral is: always carry a fire extinguisher in your car.
 
I needed a fire extinguisher just yesterday. I got out of the shower and turned on the heater that blows hot air out of the celing, when the blower motor locked up and first started glowing red, then flames shot out of the other side of the blower; anyway i killed the power and the flames went out; but it could have gotten out of hand. Does anyone know of a good small fire extinguisher i could keep around.
 
Way to go Chuck!!! You did what most people would be afraid to do.

Gollnick a day before about me. said:
But this thread is the perfect example of why I will never be a firefighter and you are the perfect firefighter.

When I see a problem, I often respond, "Let me think about this for a while...," or "maybe we should sleep on this," or, "this situation is a bit hot right now; let's let it cool off and we'll deal with it next week," or maybe even, "if we ignore this problem, maybe it will just sort of go away by itself." Those sorts of approaches work really well for some kinds of problems, but not people trapped in burning buildings. No. The firefighter needs to look at the situation, make a decision, and take action all within a minute or two.
Click to expand...
If you had hesitated people would have died. You thought clearly without thinking. You did what had to be done. You disregarded your own safety and risked your life to save another. For that I applaud your actions. Bravo! :D
 
Nice job, Chuck!

What Ken said is true; if you had hesitated even a few seconds, people would have died.
 
I keep a 2 1/2 lb Halon fire extinguisher in my truck. Never had to use it, but it is nice to know that it is there.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Well, I'm back home now tucking into the evening cocktail.

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen. It means a lot coming from pros.

Watching the pros from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue was really impressive. They dealt with two extractions (both of which involved "jaws of life" type work), and four major injuries two of which ended up leaving by helicopter, plus several others with lesser injuries, two cars on the verge of sliding off the side of the road (Tonquine Road has virtually no shoulders) both leaking all sorts of stuff and one of which had been on fire, all of this on a narrow road, at night, in the rain.

The man and woman who had respectively been trapped in the car and SUV both were carefully extracted and given a very high level of care right there, and then left by helicopters. The woman who had been on the motorcycle and was borderline in shock when I left her was expertly cared for. Her boyfriend who had seemed just fine and had been quite conversational collapsed suddenly and they both ended up leaving by ambulence.

The boyfriend did collapse quite suddenly. The two of them were just maybe 50 feet in front of my car with a half-dozen firemen attending to her. Within seconds, a half-dozen more firemen arrived and quickly separated him off as a separate case and began attending to him.

I told the police officer who led my car out how impressed I was. Her response was, "Yeah, these guys are the best!"
 
Interesting to note that of all the "gadgets and gear" carried in the car, I used:

The Fire Extinguisher
The Surefire 6P
My St. Paul Saints Jacket
An Umbrella
A cellphone
A towel
and some Moistened Towelettes.

So, guys, no knives. I did have my AFCK on me, but no need for it.
 
Vermont woodsman said:
I needed a fire extinguisher just yesterday. I got out of the shower and turned on the heater that blows hot air out of the celing, when the blower motor locked up and first started glowing red, then flames shot out of the other side of the blower; anyway i killed the power and the flames went out; but it could have gotten out of hand. Does anyone know of a good small fire extinguisher i could keep around.
Click to expand...

Over here across the big pond all car supplies stores (you know, the places in gas stations where you can get whatever gizmos you need for your car, from spark plugs to replacement light bulbs to wiper fluid) also carry small fire extinguishers, usually the kind that spits dry dust. These are about the size of 0.75 liter beer bottle and contain few seconds (?) worth of dust, apparently enough to put out small car fires. I bet you can purchase them where you live too.

I found this interesting post after finishing my reply: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=111178
 
Yeap nice job ! I buy my fire extinguishers at Home Depot , they are small and only cost about 12$$ , I keep one in my bedroom and one in my truck , about once a year I replace them , nice peice of mind.
I too used one to save some older Gent's car from burning up , makes you feel good to help someone out. :)
 
Great job Gollnick, Because of this thread im going out tonight to home depot to get two fire extinguishers, one for home and one for the suv.
 
I might add, check it occasionally to make sure it's charged.

I was handling a routine larceny once when some neighbors burst into the victim's home..."officer, officer, my truck is on fire!"

I dashed outside, grabbed the extinguisher from the trunk of my "county brown", and pulled the pin. It was a carburetor fire (younger forumites may find a definition of this device somewhere on line...), and I pointed the thing and pulled the trigger. I got a nice 1/2 second burst, then it went flat. Totally empty from the last guy who used it and didn't turn it in.
Fortunately, we found a blanket to throw on the fire.
 
Back in the days when pollution control changes were being made on engines, manufacturers found the parts made of rubber had to be upgraded because of higher engine compartment temperatures. My car had a recall to replace rubber fuel lines .I looked at mine and cracks had gone half way through the line ! The high pressure of the fuel injection would have made a fine flame! I immediately bought a fire extinguiser, never used it but it's there.
 
The old VW beetles had a nasty habit of bursting into flame. Gravity-fed gas tank, and a rubber-hose connecter from the steel line to the carb. The rubber section would fail, as noted above, and whoosh!

You used to see lots of Beetles with the rear-deck air vents discolored by flames.
 
Nicely done, Chuck! About keeping an extinguisher in the car...would seasonal temperature extremes cause any problems for storage? Keeping an extinguisher in the car does sound like a good idea.
 
Good job man! God bless you!

I never thought of buying one, but I believe now I'm going to look into it.

Edit: What is a good one to buy and where? I have about $50 right now that I could use, is that enough for a decent one or should I save up for something else? Thanks!

Edit again: Found out they're pretty cheap, a Kidde Auto Fire Extinguisher at the local Advance Auto is only $13.88, I'll pick one or two up tomorrow.
 
I got a new extinguisher yesterday.

Go to an auto store and they'll have extinguishers specifically made to be kept in car trunks where the temperatures can be more extreme than probably found inside a building and where they're likely to be subject to more vibrations.

The one used Sunday evening and the one bought yesterday both cost less than $10. I got the one yesterday at Home Depot, by the way.

This is $10 very well-spent and I urge all of you to get one of these.
 
You'd think the driver of the car would have at least replaced your fire extinguisher...

Mark
 
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