What size fire Extinguisher???

[slowzuki]

Montreal convention supposedly banned the sale and trade of Halon except in military equipment. Some places are still selling limited stock they have. I believe it is also possible to extract it from used equipment and reuse it. It is not legal to transport it across the Canada - US border without declaring it as some people have found out.

And there is no supposedly about it, Halon is extremely destructive to the ozone layer.

I currently work in the fire protection trade and it was severe blow to lose Halon. It has spured development in other really interesting technology like water mist. Marihoff have developed some cycling nitrogen and water mist systems that use just a few gallons of water to extingish jet turbine fires without cracking casings.

 

[DKinWA]

JDgreen277

The fire chief wanted us to see for ourselves what picking the wrong fire extinguiser would do. I'm sure he knew exactly what would happen when he handed me the fire extinguisher. The training I went through was probably in the early 90's, because halon was still legal then. It was fun training and I'd love to do something like this again if it were available. We spent the first part of the day in a classroom learning about fires and fire extinguishers and then went outside to practice some of what we learned.

One thing that hasn't been pointed out in the discussion, is that the fire dept. should be called first before attempting suppression of any decent sized fire. It's too easy to get overwelmed even with a bunch of fire extinguishers and the fire dept looses valuable minutes by not calling them first. Also, if the fire starts getting too big, get your buttt outside where it's safe! Buildings can be replaced, people can't.

 

[rdam]

Dry Chem extinguishers are great...but they will destroy all things electrical and are a royal PITA to clean up after.

CO2 is a nice alternative for B & C class fires

www.fire-extinguisher101.com

 

[higgy]

A few years ago I dismantled one of the oldest storehouses in the area. When we got to the attic there were all of these glass cylinders filled with carbon tetrachloride and chlorobromomethane. If there was a fire they were designed to fall to the floor and break, flooding the room with vapors that would cut off the 02 supply and smother the fire, in theory. In todays terms not very good. I was stunned that the system was still in place into the 2000's.

 

[JDgreen227]

Thank you for the information about the legal status of halon, I was not aware of the particulars. On my last job prior to retirement I worked for Facilities Management and participating in safety inspections was part of my duties. Our buildings had numerous large halon extinguishers in the computer equipment installations and server rooms because the halon type would leave no damaging residue on the delicate electronic parts. One of the guys in a server room told me he used a dry chemical extinguisher on one small fire and the chemical did more damage than the fire itself.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi all...

Hey... what's the coldest temperature a fire extinguisher can be stored at and still be functional ? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Like in an unheated building or vehicle in winter...


What's a good type and size of extinguisher to have onboard a tractor ? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif


Thanks...

Dave...

 

[Junkman]

I believe that there is an exception to the law for Halon use in computer rooms......

 

[Jethro]

Our local code would require you to have 2 10lb ABC extinguisers. I would make that a minimum. My personal opinion is that it is good to have one near each door, but I would also want to have one near the back, so that if a fire prevents me from getting to the doors to get out I can still get to an extinguisher. Definately have one nearby when welding.

 

[AndyM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I never work with flammable metals, so a extinguisher with an ABC rating is all I need. )</font>

Speaking of flamable metals, there was a large magnesium fire in Cleveland the over the last couple of days, during a rain. Of you were on high enough ground, it was reported that you could see the fire over 20 miles away! Every time the rain would hit the fire, it would create small explosions.

This is in today's paper about the flamable metal, which is something that many of us don't deal with or if we do, we don't think about it--

Facts about magnesium

Here's the link to the story about the fire--

Huge blaze lights up sky

 

[RobertN]

There are lots of good responses to you request already.

I would add that a tidy shop will minimize problems too. Now, I for one, can not back up that remark, if you ever saw my garage.... Just ask my wife /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

If you keep combustibles in thegarage to a minimum, there will be less fire hazard to begin with. Having been on a couple garage fires while in the FD, it was easier to access in the dark and smoke when fighting the fire too.