A $10 Walmart fire extinguisher can save you $100,000

[beatnik]

John, you saved the day with your quick thinking, most people would have lost ther cool in a panic. Glad to hear no one got hurt.

[old32]

It's a pity about all that damage to the car and the problems it is causing to the environment in the USA with all the residual pollutants caused by the fire extinguisher powder etc.  To save you from further problems I am quite happy to help. Place the car immediately in a sealed container and send to my address here in Australia where I will dispose of it in a safe manner well away from where it can cause any problems to the great USA.    

Very lucky save for yourself and a beautiful car.

I've always had several extinguishers in my garage and luckily never had to use them.

[Fift4fe]

Good quick read

http://phoenix.gov/FIRE/firexgsh.html

[sodbuster]

John,
Glad to here that you got the fire put out and found the extinguisher. Jen and I recently bought a house and the first thing we bought were fire extinguishers for it.

See you on the salt.

Chris Nelson
Kansas

[OzRod]

Congats on saving yourself, your shop, and that priceless willys.

I hear about this so often. Garage fires, shop fires, etc. I think I will go and buy one tomorrow. One for the garage and one for in the car.

I had a fire once. I had a brain explosion and mounted a car battery the wrong way, swapping the + and -. Next thing you know smoke and small flames. No fire extinguisher!! So I quickly pulled the terminals off which melted in my hands, and attecked it with the garden hose. Did the trick but could have been alot worse! Only damage was the alternator and a new starter/alternator loom.

[moondisc]

maybe one of our resident firefighters can correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel a 7 year old has no business any where near a fire and if he sees one should run as far away as necessary and call 911.  I would hate for anything to happen to him while he's trying to play hero.  Even a slight burn can be very painful and your cars, house, shop is not worth the possiblity of something happening to him cuz he didn't run to safety.

OK, I guess I'm the resident firefighter.
Right on the money Denise!
Not just kids. Adults that tend to panic should use the rule of thumb...
Hold you arm straight out and point your thumb up.
If you can see the fire, you're too * close!
Nothing, not even an all steel Willys, is worth a life!

[WZ JUNK]

maybe one of our resident firefighters can correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel a 7 year old has no business any where near a fire and if he sees one should run as far away as necessary and call 911.  I would hate for anything to happen to him while he's trying to play hero.  Even a slight burn can be very painful and your cars, house, shop is not worth the possiblity of something happening to him cuz he didn't run to safety.

OK, I guess I'm the resident firefighter.
Right on the money Denise!
Not just kids. Adults that tend to panic should use the rule of thumb...
Hold you arm straight out and point your thumb up.
If you can see the fire, you're too * close!
Nothing, not even an all steel Willys, is worth a life!

I agree with your statements in general.  Children should not put theirselves in harms way.  However some children have been able to do some incredilble things.  Someone had taught them skills and knowledge that they normally would not know.  I think it depends on the child.  I do not know for sure but I suspect that "hot rod girl" has some advanced skills and knowledge.

As to the rule of thumb.  I think I am not understanding your statement.  If you apply the thought then you might as well throw your fire extinguishers away.   As a side note to the Willys fire.  The fire station is about a mile and a half away.  It is in the center of town and I am about a mile out of the city limits.  I could hear the sirens when they left the firehouse that morning.  By the time they got to my house I had walked to the house from the shop, got my digital camera, came back to the shop, took pictures, and I went to the refrigerator and got me a pop. I finished off the pop before the first truck pulled into the driveway.  This is not meant to be a negative statement about the firemen and their response time, but rather a statement of fact.  They could not get to my place any quicker than that.  Everything would have been gone when they got here.

[moondisc]

Doesn't matter how mature a kid is. They have no fear. Because they have no fear, they won't get out of Dodge when the fire gets out of hand.
I'd rather my kid run like hell from a fire then die a hero.

"I agree with your statements in general.  Children should not put theirselves in harms way.  However some children have been able to do some incredilble things.  Someone had taught them skills and knowledge that they normally would not know.  I think it depends on the child.  I do not know for sure but I suspect that "hot rod girl" has some advanced skills and knowledge."

"As to the rule of thumb.  I think I am not understanding your statement."

Thought I explained that when I said people that panic in pressure situations.
Some people get hysterical. Some will freeze with fear. These are the people that should use the rule of thumb.
I'm like you John. I handle it well, but when it's over it's off to Wallyworld for the 24 pack of T-paper and a big bottle of Rolaids!

[enjenjo]

I do not know for sure but I suspect that "hot rod girl" has some advanced skills and knowledge.

Yes she does, she can pick her nose with either hand

She actually is a big help in the shop, and is out there often.

[river1]

what a coincidence.

i was coming home from the Dbacks game tonite and up ahead i see a LOT of brake lights. i slow up and get a better look and see flames. a lot of flames. a firetruck was pullin up from the opposing direction but it was too late. the small p/up was fully engulfed in flames. it looked like everyone got out thank goodness.

made me think of this thread and the fact that i don't have an extinguisher for the new truck yet. :oops:

what kind of extinguisher is good for a driver?
will the AZ heat affect one kind more then the other?

later jim

[Fift4fe]

Jim

As a minimum, I would recommend a 2 1/2 lb. ABC stored pressure dry chemical extinguisher.  Depending on how much room you have you might think about a 5 lb or a 10 lb.

The heat of AZ will not effect this unit but as with all dry chemical extinguishers you should take them out and invert them at least once a year to "fluff" the powder inside, especially in a vehicle since the vibration can pack the chemical tight.

www.abc-fire-protection.com/fire-extinguisher-specs.pdf

[moondisc]

Fift4fe
Junior Knight
Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Total posts: 16
Location: S/W of Detroit
Age: 55

Where else can you go, except the AARP board, and be a Jr member at 55?  

[Broman]

This is a timely subject.

My dad was working on a car just the other day. He is forcefully retired (aka laid-off) and is making his living by restoring musclecars and selling them. Anywho, he had just put some seam-sealer on the floors and was welding in the package tray area when the sparks lit the floor-pan on fire. He was one step away from a cheap-* fire-putter-outer and was able to stop it from spreading.

This car is a deep investment in his livelyhood, and loosing it AND his garage would have put him(and mom) in the poorhouse for sure. And they are pretty young for a couple of old farts - Dad is 56 and mom is 30 (at least she has been for the last twenty years or so). I can't imagine how they'd make it if something like that happened.


Needless to say he didn't do any more work for the rest of the day until he got new putter-outers.......