Proof you should carry a fire extinguisher.

Well i have proved the theory right.

The articles on this site and many of the safety nazi's will tell you that you should allways have a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket handy. And listening to their advise i all ways have.

Last night at our spin i was just spinning through my usual routine.
when i started doing some full turns while doing a Behind the back weave.

Now i am 100% confident in my ability to do this move but for some reason it was feeling a bit off that night.

After a few turns i went to go round again but i could feel my planes getting wonky. I tried to ride it out but upon feeling the chain wrapping around my wrists i decided to let go of the poi.

When they hit the ground one of my handles was tangled up in the chain right on top of the fire head and had managed to tie itself there in a rather solid knot. I estimated i was about half way through the burn time so there was still a lot of fuel in my wicks.

My poor handles were being destroyed and i knew there was no way i was going to get the cathedrals out so i barked at Carnival to fetch me the fire extinguisher. A blast on each fire head and they were out.

Now, withought a fire extinguisher i would have been waiting there for the next few minutes. watching my equipment being damaged and wthought a way to put out my poi.

This is why we tell people to at least have one person with some fire saftey at a spin.



Now all i have to do is get more handles and repair my wicks. They are clogged up with extinguisher powder.

I am guessing that the correct procedure is to soak them overnight in fuel to release the powder form the wicks. Then throw out that fuel and soak them again?

Thats the best i can think of to take care of them but if anyone has some tips, it would be appreciated.

Thanks guys. Happy spinning

thanks for the story DoktorSkell im thinking of getting some fire poi in the near future and that only enforces what ive seen everywhere else - get safety stuff as well

powder extinguishers are BAD.
the powder is a salty thing, so it will burn in the eyes and in the newly obtained burns.
don't even think about ever using it on somebody, ever.
FOAM is the one you want, but better still: a fire blanket...
your poi you could have done with a wet (thick) towel as well... just lay it over them and they will go out due to the lack of oxegen.
and that way you don't even have to clean them afterwards either.

signed: a safety nazi.

Sorry Parliament. But if you read my thread it says i used it to put out my poi. not myself or somebody else. For that purpose i have a fire blanket.

I know you didn't say that, I just wanted to make it clear again for people who are new here and might not have read all the safety threads yet.
and yes I also read you have a fire blanket. but reading the title of the thread I expected something different in the post:
"Proof you should carry a fire extinguisher" and the proof is: so you can safe the handles on your poi?

No, The proof is that there will sometimes be situations when you dont want your poi to continue burning. My Situation was a good example of it

Sorry if the title had you hoping you were going to hear a story about someone going up in flames. But thats not the only reason why fire safety equipment is essential.

extinguishers come in different types. we have a fuel one on hand for dealing with fuel fires eg lit spills. we have buckets of water and wet towels for dealing with all other (unexpected) fires. I think thats a minmum.

Josh

I Just think Parliament was being a bit unreasonable with what he was saying to me

Maybe so, but he did have a point about powder vs. foam. I wasn't sure about the best one before he said that so it's helped me.

Also, if someone were to get hurt, in a panic someone else might have picked up the extinguisher thinking they were helping. Having a foam one would have worked for both events.

Thanks for the story though, it's a reminder that you need to be safe even when doing the stuff you're 100% sure about doing.

and pop was right about the wet towel advice too - like he said, using that (or a foam extinguisher for that matter) would have negated your need to find out how to fix your wicks.

i don't think pop was criticising you at all doktorskell - he was just offering some advice on how to *better* deal with the situation you found yourself in.

i don't think anyone would argue against the fact that that a powder foam extinguisher is infinitely better than nothing at all - well done for carrying one and to your safety as well for being on the ball when you needed them to be.


cole. x

fire extinguishers are for sissies

*dodging flying rocks*

we always have a bucket of water for this kinda situations. and also its fun to spill a bucket of water over somebody and then pretend that they were on fire and that you did them a favour.....

i dont know much about schooling in other countries other than the UK, but at basic GCSE chemistry we were taught the differenciaries of fire extinguishers in class and for what fires to use each type.

Also, when any one is faced with a unexpected fire accident there i an element of panic!!!, this is where it IS IMPORTANT for a second person to be onhand at all times.

*Throws a rock at Konsti*

LOL

or you could've just let the crappy ruffcut poi burn and then made yourself some quality newones.

safety is not buggering up because you practice without fire

I have a fire extinguisher, for my kombi!

did you know kombis are the only car that contains the flammable metal magnesium? i can't remember which extinguisher you need for that though...



ahh the bizarre things you remember from fire training at petrol stations...

it's the motor that catches on fire, from over heating- it's air cooled. Gotta love em!

well it was designed for cold german conditions