Replace your batteries.

Great advice. I have them but had no idea where to put them. They (the extinguishers) are in the hall closets, seemed logical at the time. Thanks.

Yup I always put them next to the exit. You dont know how big of a fire it will be when you need it. I figure the normal reaction of a human when faced with danger is to run away from the fire. having the extinguisher next to the exit in plain sight will hopefully get the attention of the fleeing person and hopefully they use it. I do the same thing in my garage and in my project truck (right on the floor between the seat and the door)

Got a quick story about extinguishers: Hubby was outside bbq'ing. Unknown to hubby, apparently some critter chewed almost all the way through the supply hose from the lp tank. He was nonchalantly sitting there with a brew in his hand watching his meal cook when the entire grill lit off! (Too much fire to get to the valve shut off.) He dashed in the house, tried to release the fire extinguisher from its wall bracket, couldn't get the release to let go so.... he pulled the whole thing, extinguisher complete with bracket with some drywall hanging from it, out of the wall. We still have the hole in our wall.

Oh, yeah, he was successful putting the fire out.

Shari

I keep 3 extinguishers - 1 by the kitchen door, 1 at the bottom of the basement stairs and 1 in the garage. I also keep one of those chimfex tubes with the stove tools.

gotta make sure extinguisher is charged also

Don't forget to sweep the base of the flames when using an extinguisher. Be safe.
Ed

Random thoughts . . .

A good time of year to change the batteries in your smoke detectors is when you change the clock in the Fall . . . this year it's on November 7th . . . but if you get to it early it's even better.

Be aware that changing the batteries in your smoke detectors should be done for both battery-powered detectors and detectors that are electric with battery back-up.

Your chances of surviving a fire go up a little more than 50% with a working smoke detector . . . the more you have . . . the better your chances of survival. Of course, the only thing better in terms of beating the odds would be to have a home sprinkler system . . . then your survival odds go up to 80% or so.

A smoke detector without a battery in it is just an ugly looking hunk of plastic and electronics . . . it will do you no good . . . if you have a lot of false alarms you may want to look into detectors that have built in silencers or hush features . . . if you know the alarm is false (from burned popcorn, bacon, etc.) you only need to depress the hush button and it will silence the alarm for 5 minutes and then automatically reset . . . giving you time to open the windows, clear the smoke and even pop up a fresh batch of popcorn . . . this is far better than getting in the habit of removing the battery since it is very easy to forget to put the battery back in the detector when you get caught up washing the dishes, watching TV, walking the dog, etc. One detector with this hush button even can be hushed by using a TV remove and hitting the volume button . . . very slick for cathedral or high ceilings.

Smoke detectors are great . . . but having a smoke detector and not discussing an escape plan with the family is like having a good looking car without an engine . . . it may look good, but you're not going anywhere fast . . . the time to know how to leave the home and where to meet outside the home is not when the house is filling up with smoke.

I'm a big proponent of smoke detectors . . . and replacing the batteries . . . but while many folks know you need to change the batteries annually, many do not realize that smoke detectors have a 10-year life expectancy. Still have those smoke detectors that were in the house when you bought it in 1992? It's time to replace them. Sure, they may still sound an audible alarm when you hit the test button, but all that test button tests is the audible alarm and if it has power -- it does not test the sensing unit which can go bad over time. Think of it this way . . . would you want to drive a new car all the way across the U.S. or a 10 year old car across the U.S. . . . sure the 10-year old car may get you there safely, but there's always a greater chance it could break down along the way and leave you stranded . . . the same applies to smoke detectors . . . only the repercussions of a 10+ year old smoke detector not working when you need it the most are far worse than having to wait for a tow truck.

Incidentally, carbon monoxide detectors also have a life expectancy . . . the time to replace these varies with the manufacturer . . . some suggest changing them out in as little as 3 years, some say to change them out after 7 years . . . if in doubt I would suggest changing them out around Year 5.

Fire extinguishers . . . I like 'em . . . but I like smoke detectors a lot more . . . I rarely hear of anyone telling me how a fire extinguisher woke them up and how they used it to escape their burning home. For home use don't worry about the date . . . most seem to last 10-18 years. Just keep an eye on the gauge indicating that it is full. Extinguishers left in areas that get cold and hot (i.e. boats, cars, garage) can lose their charge over time more quickly than extinguishers . . . the expansion and contraction of the metal cylinder with the heating and cooling cycle can allow the nitrogen in the extinguisher leak by the O-ring . . . don't worry . . . you will not have a catastrophic O-ring failure like the space shuttle . . . what you will have though is the nitrogen escaping over time and when you go to use the extinguisher it may be empty or not fully charged.

Helpful Hint . . . the powder in extinguishers can cake up much like baking soda in a box . . . the problem with this is that if it becomes hard and cakes up when you go to use the extinguisher you may not get all the powder out . . . just turn your extinguisher upside down once in a while and give it a small rap with your hand . . . this should dislodge the powder in the extinguisher and keep it loose.

Ideally the extinguishers should be near a door or exit . . . but sometimes aesthetics as dictated by folks like Mrs. Firefighterjake dictates otherwise . . . apparently hanging extinguishers near every door is not all that appealing . . . for this reason I suggest you locate extinguishers close (but not too close) to potential sources of fire (incidentally you are far more likely to have a fire on your kitchen range and oven than in your woodstove.)

And finally . . . thanks Shari for the story . . . believe it or not something very similar happened to me with my grandmother's gas grill many, many years ago . . . the funny thing is I was inside reading the newspaper and my kid brother came inside and told me the grill was on fire and I figured he was just seeing the grill's propane jets and smoke so I explained to him that it was normal . . . he disappeared and reappeared 3 minutes later to tell me that the grill really was on fire . . . again I explained that I was reading and that the grill may look like it's on fire, but it is OK . . . again he took off only to come back again a few minutes later and this time he was quite insistent I come look at the grill . . . I went out and lo and behold . . . flames were shooting 3-5 feet high off the grill . . . and yes . . . I used an extinguisher to put out the fire . . . and then very importantly turned off the source of the gas to keep the gas from re-igniting.

Good information from our resident fire fighter. Thanks Jake.

Backwoods Savage said:

Good information from our resident fire fighter. Thanks Jake.

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Correction . . . one of our many resident firefighters . . . there are several of us here . . . career, paid call, volunteer and retired.

Sorry about that. Poor wording on my part. Should I say one of our firefighters who posts good information on a regular basis and also has a picture of his toy as his avatar? Anyway, thanks Jake.

I've done the smoke detectors on Jan 1.

Ever since kids and Christmas seem to always have plenty of new batteries around and can find them that time of year.

Extinguishers are part of Winter prep. raking leaves, finding the snow shovel, etc.

Garage, front and back porches and kitchen.

Great safety tips.
Good reminders even if you don't burn wood.

I got a water fire extinguisher that's kinda of chrome and semi decorative, that is pressurized by air. It can bring a good quantity of water to the fire (where appropriate).

I had such a hassle with my hardwired BRK combo photo/ionization detectors I replaced each one with individual photo and ion models. They don't have batteries and I do believe I like it that way. No false alarms, no hassle of replacing expensive batteries. Still do have a couple batteriy powered units that communicate wirelessly to units in garage, so I am still in the battery buying game.

Got a quick story about extinguishers: Hubby was outside bbq’ing. Unknown to hubby, apparently some critter chewed almost all the way through the supply hose from the lp tank. He was nonchalantly sitting there with a brew in his hand watching his meal cook when the entire grill lit off! (Too much fire to get to the valve shut off.) He dashed in the house, tried to release the fire extinguisher from its wall bracket, couldn’t get the release to let go so…. he pulled the whole thing, extinguisher complete with bracket with some drywall hanging from it, out of the wall. We still have the hole in our wall.

Oh, yeah, he was successful putting the fire out

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Thats hilarious :lol:

I've got mine mounted so they hang from the top of the door frame just outside to the kitchen (the only room I worry about fire in mostly) this keeps them within easy reach and out of the way.