Fire Prevention and Safety - Fire Extinguisher?

[80s Burnout]

How many fire extinguishers do you have and where do you keep them? Does anyone have a rope ladder or other contraption for exiting from second floor....just in case.

I will be purchasing fire extinguishers this week. As of right now I don't have any in the house!!

 

[struggle]

I just bought two a week ago. I keep one in my bathroom cabinet below the sink upstairs and the basement one under the sink in the kitchen away from the stove.

Placement should not be right near the stove or fireplace since if a fire starts there and you are away from it how are you going to get at the extinguisher.

No rope ladders here as we have a ranch home.

 

[Dill]

Make sure you check you extingushers on a regular basis. I had a fuel fire on a tractor this summer, and the extingusher was empty. Luckily it put itself out before I got back with a good one.

 

[oilstinks]

I am sure there are different views but our fire extinguisher class instructor at my fire dept said to periodically shake up your dry chem extinguisher to keep the powder good and loose.

 

[BrotherBart]

We are a long way from a fire station and water hookup so their is an Amerex B456 ten pound ABC extinguisher somewhere in every room of this house and at each exit. But "normal" people should have one located at each exit from the house so that they are accessible.

 

[atgreene]

Keep in mind that the type of extinguisher you get makes a difference. A- BC or ABC dry chem will make a mess if you have to use it, so base your decision on where the extinguisher is likely to be used. A pressurized water can works good, but is limited in use.

Also, if you're going to spend the money, any extinguisher with a metal handle is certifiable and can be recharged and tested for years to come. Plastic handles indicate it is strictly throw-away. It cannot be refilled. A 10 lb. is a nice size, the 2.5 lb are a little small from my experience.

Good luck.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

I got the metal handle kind, a little spendy but having them refilled every few years is cheap insurance against them not working on the day I need them. I hang 'em on the wall outside the back doors of the house and garage.

Eddy

 

[firefighterjake]

How many fire extinguishers do you have and where do you keep them? Does anyone have a rope ladder or other contraption for exiting from second floor....just in case.

I will be purchasing fire extinguishers this week. As of right now I don't have any in the house!!

Two fire extinguishers . . . one in my Mudroom (adjacent to my Boiler Room and kitchen) and one in my dining room closet (adjacent to my living room with the woodstove and the kitchen).

I'm not a big fan of rope ladders . . . the pictures always show folks calmly and easily climbing down. What they don't show are folks wondering where they put the ladder, folks attempting to untangle the mess, folks clinging to the ladder and struggling to get down. My own personal take . . . save the money and buy some good smoke detectors (I like either a combination ion/photoelectric detector or buy one of each) and place them in the home on every level, in the bedroom and in the hall . . . and last but not least make sure they work.

For even more protection, do as you have . . . buy a couple of fire extinguishers and while you're at the store make sure you have at least one CO detector.

If you have working smoke detectors you should have enough time to get you out of the house . . . and if things really are so bad that you need to bail out a second-story window in most cases you're better off hanging on to the window and dropping feet first. A "fall" from a second floor may potentially lead to some foot/leg injuries . . . but typically these are not life-threatening. Attempting to find, untangle, mount, etc. a ladder just isn't worth the time . . . if you really want some easier way to descend . . . although there is one ladder on the market that is more expensive, but it folds up in a box mounted next to a window and has spacers so a person can more easily descend the ladder (I can't remember the name . . . saw it on an episode of Cool Tools.)

 

[firefighterjake]

I am sure there are different views but our fire extinguisher class instructor at my fire dept said to periodically shake up your dry chem extinguisher to keep the powder good and loose.

I'm glad he/she mentioned this . . . I encourage folks to periodically check the extinguisher to see if the needle is in the green and to turn it upside down and rap it a couple of times with your hand to loosen up the powder which tends to cake up (much like baking soda if you haven't used if for awhile). If the powder cakes up there is a possibility that when you go to use it you will expel the gas (typically nitrogen) and just a little bit of the powder if it is caked up inside.

 

[oilstinks]

that would be a he just for referance. Still on my first year fire classes.

 

[firefighterjake]

Keep in mind that the type of extinguisher you get makes a difference. A- BC or ABC dry chem will make a mess if you have to use it, so base your decision on where the extinguisher is likely to be used. A pressurized water can works good, but is limited in use.

Also, if you're going to spend the money, any extinguisher with a metal handle is certifiable and can be recharged and tested for years to come. Plastic handles indicate it is strictly throw-away. It cannot be refilled. A 10 lb. is a nice size, the 2.5 lb are a little small from my experience.

Good luck.

In most cases having an ABC dry powder extinguisher is best for most homeowners since it is pretty much full-proof and easy to find and buy . . . as you said these do make a mess, but then again fire kind of messes up a place as well.

In general most extinguishers with a metal handle can be recharged . . . most plastic handled ones are throw-away models, although some can be refilled (although arguably most fire extinguisher companies would not do so.)

It also bears mentioning that for the average home owner you can get 10-15 years on a fire extinguisher without any need for testing . . . and after 5-7 years (depending on the type) refilling an extinguisher that has been discharged may not be economically worth the expense (particularly on the smaller models) due to the need to hydrostatically (pressure) test these before refilling.

 

[drdoct]

Honestly, I don't think anyone should be without an extinguisher whether they rent or own, fireplace or no fireplace. I've got 1 in the kitchen & 1 in the bathroom. Big ones too. I've never had to use one at home though (thank goodness), work is a different story.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Since we're discussing fire extinguishers... are the A-B-C types any use in a chimney fire? I'm thinking along the lines of opening the stove door briefly, discharging the extinguisher up the flue (or above the baffle), then closing the door again and shutting down the draft. Or is it better to just shut down the draft and pray?

Eddy

 

[SlyFerret]

I probably went overboard, but I feel better knowing I've done what I can to make sure I know if there is a problem.

I have 3 fire extinguishers in my house. One in the kitchen (the open floor plan makes it easily accessible from the stove room too), one in the laundry room, and one in my bedroom. They are rated ABC. The vendor suggests (as has already been mentioned) to shake them at least every 6 months to make sure the powder doesn't get packed in the bottom.

I have heat alarms in the laundry room, garage, stove room/kitchen/dining room (open floor plan), and in both attics.

I have CO detectors in the lower part of the split level to cover the laundry room/family room, as well as one in the stove room, and one in the hallway upstairs just outside of the bedrooms.

I have optical smoke detectors in the family room, upstairs hall way, main bedroom and what will hopefully be a nursery in the next year or so.

I have an ionization detector in the 3rd bedroom (mostly just storage right now), and one down in the stove room.

-SF

 

[BrotherBart]

I have recently installed an economical fire alarm system in our house.

 

[fossil]

:lol: I remember Jiffy Pop. Loved watching the magic foil bubble grow. Then came microwave ovens to spoil all the fun. Now all I see is Orville Redenbacher's face puff up. Dunno what would wake you first, though...the popping corn, or the crackling of the wood trim. I keep fire extinguishers in a bunch of places, all dry chemical type (ABC). You can find one in/near my kitchen, near most every entrance to my home, in my shop, in my garages, in my vehicles, in my trailer box, and somewhere in the vicinity of each of my woodstoves. Something about spending a lot of years at sea on ships helped make me nearly obsessive about fire prevention/protection. Ever seen a machinery space or the flight deck of an aircraft carrier on fire? :ahhh: Rick

 

[atgreene]

First off, call the fire dept. The heat from a chimney fire can crack the flue liner and allow fire into your attic/living space or behind a wall.

If you want to try to knock the fire down, first, close-up the stove. Close the air intakes and limit opening the stove. Then insert the hose from the extinguisher into the clean-out and slightly up the chimney, hold the clean-out door closed as far as possible and give it a short blast. Pull the hose out and close the door. You most likely will get a blast of extinguisher material back into the room, but the more you can limit the door opening the less you will get back. Redo as necessary.

A mirror will allow you to see up the chimney flue to see what is going on. USE CAUTION, the sparks and material dropping down from burning creosote is extremely hot and the more you leave it open, the hotter the fire gets. I keep one of those small mirors on an extendable rod next to my chimney just to keep and eye on creosote build-up. In an emergency having to run around trying to find one is a pita.

If you have a complete blockage, you're out of luck. The fire dept. will have to deal with it.

An ABC or BC extinguisher will knock the fire down and usually extinguish it, but I've seen chimney fires where it took hours to get the fire entirely extinguished and chimneys have been destroyed by the heat. Further, my grandparents once had one that entirely blocked the flue and pumped the creosote smoke back into the house, covering everything. It took weeks to get everything cleaned.

Chimney fires are nothing to mess with, get help coming before it's too late. I've seen many houses destroyed because the homeowner thought they were all set, only to have a fire in a void. It would be a shame to loose everything because of embarassment at having to call the local fire dept.

The moral of the story, prevent it from happening in the first place. Clean the chimney often and keep an eye on it.

 

[Ken45]

ABC (dry chemical) extinguishers are not very good on wood type fires. A typical rating is 1A;10BC which means roughly that it's only one tenth as good on a wood fire as on a grease fire.

Not to say that they are not useful, but they don't work miracles on a solid fuel fire (e.g. wood), household furnishings, etc.

Much better IMO are the presurized water extinguishers or, better yet, a connected garden hose!

Seriously, a water hose will accomplish a lot more than a dry chemical extringuisher. One of the problems with a dry chem is that it does not cool down the fuel.

However, I'll repeat what was said earlier: first step, call the fire department!

Then, if the fire is real small, try to stop it. Otherwise, get out of the house! Again, a garden hose from outside can work wonders.

Actually, unless it is real small, let me modifiy what I said before: first step, get out of the house, second step, call the fire department. Many people have died going back in or trying to stop a fire. It's not worth the life risk.

Ken

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Big one in the stove room between the door to the outside and door to the kitchen. I'd keep it away from the stove. If you need to use it, it's probably best if it is easy to get to and not next to a fire. Also, don't be crazy, if you need to get out, get out.

Make sure the insuance is paid!

Matt

 

[MarcM]

When I was at my last fire department, the first truck in our district often rolled with just my partner and me. Depending on the situation, we'd often head in with just a set of irons (ax and haligan) and a PW can. I think we knocked down probably two or three legit room and contents fires with our PW can. Moral of the story- they're very handy for home use except cooking oil and grease fires, so make sure anyone in your home likely to use an extinguisher is well aware of this.

I keep a Class K extinguisher handy for the kitchen which is better for animal fat fires than dry chem. Class K uses an agent like that found in commercial kitchen Ansul systems and uses a chemical mist in order to prevent splash back and flare up.

That being said, I keep an ABC dry chem near the stove as well, in case of chimney fires as others have explained.

A full compliment of working CO and smoke detectors of course is essential.

Of course, I'm a little deranged too, but soon I'll have a full residential fire sprinkler system in as well as some sort of pressure boosted misting system for the chimney, cook stove and furnace room.

 

[TMonter]

I have one in each room with each wood stove, one in the basement and one in each bedroom. Remember if a fire breaks out while you are sleeping and you don't have one in your bedroom your chances of stopping it are much lower.

Oh and I always keep one in my truck while woodcutting.