Fire extinguisher
Hi All,
I have a query about fire extinguisher. We purchased our first van end of last year and I am beginning to get the bits in for this year. My mum gave me a couple of items from when my parents did caravanning and one of those items is a fire extinguisher.
I was wondering at what point do you need to replace extinguisher's. Looking at the base of the cylinder it states 11/2005 so guessing 14 years old, but according to the gauge the mark is still in the green.
Is this still good to use? Can gauges become stuck overtime or since 14 years old I understand that is coming to the end of its life?
Lastly if I need to replace it where can I safely dispose of the old extinguisher?
Many thanks
Phil.
Comments
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The best place to seek disposal advice would be your council recycling officer. Give him/her a call.
No idea on dates. I no longer carry one in the caravan. In years gone by I had one, as many did, by the door. These days I reckon that if I need a fire extinguisher and I've reached the door I might as well carry on and get out
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Fire extinguishers are designed to fight small fires in order to stop them becoming bigger fires. I have successfully used them for that purpose in the past; the emphasis here must be on "small".
The cost of a caravan fire extinguisher is low compared to the cost of your caravan so the question has to be asked if you want to face a small fire with an extinguisher that may not work?
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Your local fire station will have all the advice that you need and will probably glad to talk to you. They enjoy a chat with people with responsible attitudes to fire dangers. On a similar vein, in my sailing days, when my flares were out of date, I kept them back as a reserve as they may have saved my life if the new in date ones failed. Obviously you won't want to carry load of extinguishers but maybe one as a back up stored where you can get at it in my opinion is not a bad idea.
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I've just bought one from Screwfix for about £15 - 1kg suitable for Class A,B&C fires. Hardly worth a second thought compared to the cost of the van.
When you think of all the gimmicks manufacturers willingly fit in today's vans, why a fire extinguisher isn't fitted as standard equipment is beyond me.
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It depends on the type of fire extinguisher you are talking about. Take it to your local fire station, they will be helpful, tell you if it’s still usable, if all it needs is a new propellant, or if you need to replace it. Most hazardous thing you will do inside your van (assuming you don’t smoke in there!) is cook, so a small fire blanket might be a useful addition, providing you know how and when to use it. But get out is always first priority. Something to tell your young children as well
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TD. I think your idea about a fire blanket is a very good idea. I can't believe that I do not have one in the caravan (but soon will have)! Obviously a wet T towel is a good substitute.
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A wet tea towel takes time to wet, far too long in a fire situation; trust me on that point.
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Quite agree DM, BUT if there is perhaps an instantly available Tea Towel or hand towel that has not dried from earlier use then they could give a couple more seconds to get to safety. In these circumstances I much prefer the Live Coward to the Dead Hero !!
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It depends on what type of fire the extinguisher was made to extinguish.The three main ones are water, powder and foam, when I worked on tankers our's was checked on a regular basis for pressure and the powder ones turned upside down and given a good shaking because the power goes solid in the base. For one of that age I would replace.
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My OH was in Fire Service, so he’s good with extinguishers etc...... we still have an old BCF extinguisher in our caravan. No longer available, illegal now to refill, but it will still work if we need it. But it’s get out fast as first option, always. Caravan came with Fire blanket, small, easy pull out, thankfully we have never needed it. You won’t have time to wet a tea towel, trust me.........especially if aquaroll needs filling!
Takes a newbie to remind us of basic precautions sometimes, well done Ph1l.....👍
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I recall the days when a bucket of water next to the van was standard practice. It used to be a safety rule in the boatyard at my sailing club during the winter storage period as well. A good first line of defence.
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Whilst we're not going to go down the FIRE bucket route (nor have a man with a flag walking in front of our vehicle when travelling) we will take a look at our fire extinguisher date as we have had it a long time.
We did have occasion to use it, once, when towing in Norwich, and we noticed the car in front had flames coming from wiring on his tow hitch sockets!!!! Scary stuff, but we were in queueing traffic, so I got out, into the caravan to get the extinguisher , at the same time my OH got out and alerted the occupants of the car who also got out, and between us all we got the fire out, whilst hardly holding up the traffic! The fire service congratulated us on a good job, well executed!
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If Phil's is a powder extinguisher I understand it should be shaken up every year otherwise the powder settles and the powder will harden over the years but still show 'green'. I'd suggest a new fire extinguisher now with the local Council advising on where to take the old one [our Council has one sight for those awkward disposals].
Because the doors on our motorhome are all at the front and the window at the rear will not permit easy egress, we have two adult length fire blankets. One for the kitchen and one for the rear [only inhabited by one person at night]. The reason is "to get out quick and safely". We bought them from SafeLincs who also provided us with telephone advice on which to buy.
When our current extinguisher passes its useful date, we will probably get a dry mist extinguisher on the advice of our local fire brigade providing no better products come along.
As others have said, the local Fire Brigade are the best to advise although you may need to explain the fire risks in a motorhome as mine said they had never attended a motorhome fire - other than engine fires.
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Hi
Firstly some useful advice above, thanks.
Every three years with the club we have some very exciting refresher training which includes fire safety. It used to involve the correct use of extinguishers etc, but now the training is mainly getting people to safety and keeping them safe. A point mentioned above about a small fire, that's the important bit. A small fire gets to a life threatening big fire very very quickly.
Back in the day I was a fire warden in a factory, our orange vest was printed on the back with "follow me quickly". I'd sooner leave that small fire to do it's thing and be happy that I'm fit and well. I've seen two instances in my club career of van fires, very scary and not worth it. Isn't that what we pay that expensive insurance for?
JK
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Phil, Do you have a Lidl shop near to you? From today, 10th January Lidl are selling a One Kg powder extinguisher for £8,99 so they will probably have some left for a few days.
I intend getting a new one in the morning for our house. The one we have at the moment is dated 2003, so it will be interesting to set it off and see what happens. Nuggy. ( I must remember not to stand down wind )
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If you are going to the N E C next month then get the latest info first and you may well find quality extinguishers at reasonable prices there perhaps
I quite understand folk who advocate a swift retreat from an in-'van fire but some of us may have disabled / slow moving people or youngsters in there with us and any few seconds gained must help their escape.
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I quite understand folk who advocate a swift retreat from an in-'van fire but some of us may have disabled / slow moving people or youngsters in there with us and any few seconds gained must help their escape.
I agree ABM. It is a good idea to do your own risk assessments
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Many thanks for your thoughts. Perhaps yes just get a new one. That PFE link looks great and doesn't leave a mess unless perhaps foam based extinguisher.
I have already ordered a fire blanket. Can never be to safe although as you say if safest leave the van.
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I was in the Fire detection and Extinguishing industry for nearly 50 years. All Fire Extinguishers should be serviced every 12 months. Unfortunately the small ones usually carried in caravans and motorhomes are usually not servicable. They are basically a large aerosol. They need to be replaced every 12 months. I have seen that some people recommend shaking up the powder every now and again, this is fine to keep the powder in the container free but very often it sets solid in the valve so it is useless. I also carry a BCF extinguisher, Maggie and the Montreal agreement have a lot to answer for. The big advantage with a fire blanket is being able to easily extinguisher a person whose clothes have caught fire. The first thing I always set up when having a BBQ is the Fire Blanket. If you've ever tried cleaning up after discharging a Dry Powder extinguisher you will understand why sometimes it's better to forget it and let it burn.
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I always carry a fire extinguisher.
I asked Swift caravans why, for the relatively low cost, they didn't fit fire extinguishers as standard to new caravans.
They said that they didn't want to be seen to be encouraging people to fight fires because theirs and the fire services advice was always to get out of the caravan.
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My BCF is now about 30 years old. It is a completely sealed canister which I check weigh every year to see that it has not leaked. It is the cleanest and least damaging type of extinguisher for a small fire. Ideal for a motorhome with a variety of risks. Engine fire or cooker etc. Unfortunately they were no longer produced after the Montreal agreement. Lots of money was made by telling people that they were illegal. Not strictly true, however it was impossible to refill them once discharged.
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I find it worrying people are stowing their fire extinguisher by the door. That is not a good idea. The purpose of the extinguisher is to get you past the fire and to the door so you can escape. So it should be easily to hand about half-way between the end of the caravan and the door. If the door is amidships - then two are required.
Also, we should all have some practice in opening windows and rolling onto the ground outside. This may be the only viable exit, and even elderly and disabled can often manage such a manoeuvre when flames are licking! So what if you break a bone - that can be fixed. I remember a long ago rescue training session with a famous A&E surgeon who said "Bring me a live casualty - I can fix anything but death".
And a timely reminder that most fire fatalities are caused by breathing in smoke and fumes. The dash for the door can be the fatal move.
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