Fire Extinguishers in our MVs

Do you have one in each of your Mvs? What is a good brand and type? Where did you get it from? Also do you inspect it regularly and what is the standard practice for replacing them?

I came up with these questions because I don't have any in mine and want to remedy that along bring it to folks attention about having them especially with us all gearing up for spring and summer MV events.

I'm still hoarding old halon extinguishers from the 1990s. The pressure reads good so they are my first choice for engine/electrical fires. But I keep a few ABC drys around as well. (I don't trust the old halon units 100%)

I have a large ABC in the shop, a medium ABC in the truck and I will be getting a large CO2 for the truck. I got them from home depot, they are the refillable kind. I inspect them regularly and have used both of them. My neighbor lit his lawn on fire with a lawn mower in high grass. I ran over with both until we could get a hose on it. FD was pissed when they got there and only had to do the overhaul.

Check your local fire equipment store. They usually install sprinkler systems. They can fill and service.

I just mounted one in my M1009, I purchased the following:

H3R Performance 2.5 lb. HalGuard
H3R Performance Part HG250B - H3R Performance 2.5 lb. HalGuard Black Clean Agent Fire Extinguisher

This one is for engine fires. This is not a C general rated fire extinguisher that puts out a paste that would be a mess to get off an engine after a fire which is why it is more expensive. I am going to get another one mounted in the back for general fires as shown below:

H3R Performance 2.5 lb. MaxOut Red
H3R Performance Part MX250R - H3R Performance 2.5 lb. MaxOut Red Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher

I like the H3R because it has a metal mounting bracket instead of the plastic garbage.

FYI.. check the cost to refill a CO2 extingisher before you buy one. Usually they are big $$$ to refill.

I carry one in each vehicle not just the MVs.

When we are going on a long trip I bring an extra. I have seen brake fires and electrical fires both do bad things to good vehicles in remote areas.

I have several kinds from several suppliers and on this last trip I picked up a couple smaller ones from the TA travel center after a mishap with a short that caused an exploding battery.

they are good to have and you hope that you never need them

The MTA club as a rule wants all members to carry a Fire extinguisher ABC and at least 1 wheel chock at all events, and chock when parked and never start a vehicle if not in drivers seat, The BIG show is coming fast, and its a good idea for any one going to any event to have at least these items. A spill kit is always recommended also, but the first 2 are a friendly mandatory thing,

A fire extinguisher saved my barn from burning up when my tractor caught on fire. I carry one in all my mv`s.

I carry extinguishers in my deuces and generator trailer. I have military 5 Lb Purple K extinguisher mounted that is original OD in color. I would not drive any of my MVs without an extinguisher. I like the GI purple K extinguishers because they are OD in color and one came in one of my deuces.

Turn the extingusher upside down every few months, and smack the bottom with a rubber mallet. This keeps the chemical inside loose, and not compacted from setting in a vibrating vehicle. Just my .

How many times can you do this before it's time to empty it and start fresh. I only ask because my extinguisher has been in three different vehicles over the ten or so years I've had it. I do wap the bottom with a dead blow every once in a while.

I have either a 5 or 10 pound in my deuce. Whichever one fits in the standard bracket on the transmission tunnel. ABC type. I also carry two wheel chocks.

DOT requires a minimum of a 5# ABC extinguisher, in all commercial vehicles.

Sometimes extinguishers don't make it through the extreme cold here, and they loose their charge. I took one to a fire products store to re-charge it. They didn't want to do that because over the years, there were too mny serious abrasions to the outside of the canister. They were right about that. So I bought a new one from them. Coincidently, I went to a WallMart store and saw one of the same size and rating. At first I thought I had been over charged, until I looked closer. El Cheepo, is still El Cheepo! I can just see somebody, in an emergency situation, grabing one of those things, and have the handle collapse, or something similiar

DOT requires a minimum of a 5# ABC extinguisher, in all commercial vehicles.

Sometimes extinguishers don't make it through the extreme cold here, and they loose their charge. I took one to a fire products store to re-charge it. They didn't want to do that because over the years, there were too mny serious abrasions to the outside of the canister. They were right about that. So I bought a new one from them. Coincidently, I went to a WallMart store and saw one of the same size and rating. At first I thought I had been over charged, until I looked closer. El Cheepo, is still El Cheepo! I can just see somebody, in an emergency situation, grabing one of those things, and have the handle collapse, or something similiar

A 5lb ABC work fine for a truck extinguisher, it should be inspected annual by a Fire extinguisher company to check the charge and weight for proper operation when you need it! It will need a 6 year visual inspection and 12 year hydro inspection. As mention by Rosco the plastic head ones sold at retail stores are not too well made and not refillable once used. Amerex and Badger are two brands I see in the field as my job as a Fire Marshal. They are more money up front but they can be serviced and recharged. It is amazing how much fire you can put out with one. Remember P.A.S.S. Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the trigger and Sweep side to side. Stay Safe.
P.S. The 6 year and 12 year inspection are required for Fire code and DOT most people won’t check your truck to see if it’s tagged but it is probably money well spent to know it will work when you need it.
Best,

I'm still hoarding old halon extinguishers from the 1990s. The pressure reads good so they are my first choice for engine/electrical fires. But I keep a few ABC drys around as well. (I don't trust the old halon units 100%)

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Halon is magical mystical stuff…if used correctly. “Correctly” means we must understand how Halon works. Halon interrupts the chemical chair reaction of the fire tetrahedron; it does not remove the fuel, heat, or oxygen. Halon is a liquefied gas in the extinguisher and discharges as a stream of liquid, but rapidly vaporizes to a gas, and is really good in enclosed areas. It does not leave residue, thus was a preferred extinguishing agent for electronic installations. It is, however, an asphyxiant. It also eats atmospheric ozone, which is why it is no longer commercially available.

In the real world, if you use Halon on a liquid fuel fire, you’ll probably extinguish the fire momentarily, but since you’re probably outside, the Halon will rapidly dissipate. The heat, fuel, and oxygen will still be present, and you will probably experience rapid reignition. I would not trust Halon to extinguish vehicle fires for that reason; the magical mystical stuff simply blows away. It’s no different than CO2 in that regard.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) extinguishers use a blanket of inert carbon dioxide gas to exclude oxygen from a burning fuel. CO2 extinguishers are best used on liquid fuel fires (Class B) with the caveat that the extinguishing agent is a gas that’s heavier than air, therefore if the fire is above ground or in any breeze at all, the CO2 gas will either fall to the ground quickly or blow away. Additionally, once the CO2 dissipates, it will be replaced by oxygen from the atmosphere, so you may experience reignition. CO2 extinguishers have a distinctive big nozzle, as I show in Pic # 3.

Dry Chemical extinguishers (ABC, or “dry chem”) are rated by the number of square feet of burning fuel surface that a trained user can extinguish. “5-lb” or “10-lb” is no longer used. On the label, you should find the rating; it will be something like “2A:10BC” (residential, roughly 5 pounds) or something like that. This means that a trained user should be able to extinguish 2 square feet of a Class A fuel (wood, paper, grass, etc) and 10 square feet of a Class B fuel (liquid; gasoline, oil, burning plastics, etc). The “C” means that the extinguishing agent has been tested and proven to be electrically non-conductive, thus save to use on energized electrical equipment. The “C” does not make it any better at extinguishing anything, it just means you won’t get shocked.

Turn the extingusher upside down every few months, and smack the bottom with a rubber mallet. This keeps the chemical inside loose, and not compacted from setting in a vibrating vehicle. Just my .

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This is great advice, but it’s also really good advice to shake the extinguisher up immediately before you use it. I’m not a big fan of disposable stuff, but it admittedly has its place. The little Wal-Mart cheapie extinguishers are great to keep handy all over the place, but I’m a firefighter by trade; I’ve got a couple of big honkin extinguishers lurking in the shadows too. This 20A:120BC rig is roughly 40 lbs.

Please take out your extinguisher and read the instructions. Now. When something is burning is a particularly poor time to try to figure out how to operate an extinguisher. Call your local fire department’s administrative number (not 911) and find out if they offer community safety classes so you can learn how to fight a fire with an extinguisher under controlled conditions.

Be safe.

And even though it might be common knowledge, it is generally preferred to keep a metal head extinguisher over the plastic head units. The bottom of your can or the neck will have a date stamp on them, and as long as the pressure is good to go so is your extinguisher. The recommendations to strike the bottom of the extinguisher is actually advised against since there is no need in a modern fire extinguisher, and there is more of a possibility of damaging the shell than anything else.

Feel free to flip and shake though.