Check your fire extinguisher!

[KD5NRH]

Luckily it was a routine check, and not the hard way.

My car's fire extinguisher is dead empty. I know it was fine a couple of months ago, but apparently the heat got to it. That got me started looking through Kidde and First Alert's sites for something suitable for car use in Texas. Everything I've found has instructions not to mount it where temperatures exceed 120F. That may be realistic for Minnesota, but anybody who's ever left a thermometer in a car here knows that the inside of a car can easily exceed 130F on a sunny day. I've measured 136F with the windows half open in a silver car with light colored upholstery.

I've got a product inquiry in with Kidde, and I may try to call First Alert later since they don't have an email address listed, but it seems pretty silly that they don't seem to make a product rated for a condition that's so typical here.

[toverman]

I'm not questioning your practice of keeping a fire extinguisher in your car, I just wonder how many people do. I don't.

[KD5NRH]

Originally Posted by toverman

I'm not questioning your practice of keeping a fire extinguisher in your car, I just wonder how many people do. I don't.

I've seen too many burning cars on the sides of the freeways for me to not carry <$20 worth of protection. Even if insurance covers it, you're still stuck on the side of the road watching everything you couldn't grab in time burn. Most car fires start small, but if you don't have something to put it out with, you just get to stand around and do nothing.

Besides, I have a 4 month old now, and getting her out of the seat may take more time than I have without something to slow the fire down.

[CaptainTom]

It's a smart thing to do, but most of us aren't THAT smart... unfortunately.
Let us know if you find a suitable product.

[kenw]

The trunk of a car does not reach the same excessive temperatures as the cabin due to the lack of glass. In fact, the enclosed trunk of a regular car rarely reaches much above the outside ambient temperature. Glass (even if tinted) passes UV and IR light and that's what heats the air up.

However, if you don't have a separate trunk (as in you have a pickup or station wagon or SUV) you are SOL.

[Hogleg 44]

Originally Posted by kenw

However, if you don't have a separate trunk (as in you have a pickup or station wagon or SUV) you are SOL.

Or if it's your car that catches fire and you have to get into the trunk for the extinguisher...you may be SOL!
I'd better take a look at mine. It's been in there for a looong time!

[photonewb]

I have one in my apt that I check whenever I walk by....of course it's been there since I moved in and it still says charged lol

[KD5NRH]

Originally Posted by photonewb

I have one in my apt that I check whenever I walk by....of course it's been there since I moved in and it still says charged lol

Might be worth asking the fire department if the complex is required to provide annual inspections for the provided extinguishers. I've seen those gauges stuck on "good" even when the extinguisher was empty. Granted, I think some inspectors just tap the gauge and put a new tag on, but at least you can say it was professionally checked.

[toverman]

I find nothing wrong with keeping an extinguisher in your car.

My philosophy, however, especially when my kids are in the car, if a fire started I would grab them and run as far away as possible. Staying to fight a fire in a vehicle that runs on combustible fuel (with the potential to have a gigantic tank full of it) isn't my thing. The car and its contents are replaceable; the people aren't. You have to get so close to use an extinguisher, it's just not worth the potential for serious danger.

The last car fire I witnessed, an electrical short in the heated seats sparked the fire. By the time the guy pulled over, the interior was approaching fully engulfed. By the time the fire department arrived (which was just minutes), the entire car was involved in flames.

[KD5NRH]

Originally Posted by toverman

\My philosophy, however, especially when my kids are in the car, if a fire started I would grab them and run as far away as possible.

What if you can't? Even without an adrenalin rush screwing things up, it takes a few seconds for me to get out, get to her door and get the car seat loose from its base and out of the door. If the car is wrecked, it might take a lot longer. I can use (and have used) a fire extinguisher even before the car is completely stopped.

I've owned a few clunkers, so I've had the opportunity to use the extinguisher three times. Two were electrical, one was oil leaking on the exhaust. In both of the electrical fires, I was able to disconnect the problem circuit on the roadside and drive home for a proper repair.

You have to get so close to use an extinguisher, it's just not worth the potential for serious danger.

Getting close to a cabin fire isn't much of an issue when you start out inside the roughly 6x4ft box of the average car interior with the fire.

The last car fire I witnessed, an electrical short in the heated seats sparked the fire.

Gives a whole new meaning to bun warmer. Not exactly a feature I've ever seen much need for, though.

Dumping a CO2 or Halon extinguisher in to the seat you're sitting on may make it hard to breathe until you get the windows down or doors open, but it will at least give you more time to get safely off the road and make an orderly retreat.