Best fire extinguishers

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy myself a fire extinguisher for safety purposes, but I only seem to be able to find Dry Powder extinguishers easily available. I'm just wondering if they are safe enough to use on someone who catches on fire, IE, in the face, etc. I'm just wondering if that stuff is toxic or not. Can't seem to find any further information.

Of course the sales people tell me it's safe, but I think they just want to sell the thing and don't know what I'm talking about.

Any help would be appreciated.

Damia.

dude/not a dude,
the only help i can give you is a silly smile , and the idea that i think smaller extinguishers are cheaper cus they are not refillable.
hope this helps, if not, rememeber to smile!

If I was getting a fire extinguisher, I'd probably get a CO2 one - mainly because you can use them on any type of fire and there's a substantially smaller risk of damaging someone's eyes or lungs with CO2 rather than powder or foam.
Plus, they don't leave any mess behind that someone has to clear up afterwards.

Above all, don't get a water one - it might be fine to spray onto someone and burning clothes, but you can't use them on burning liquid.

I would suggest talking to someone who knows about them fully - maybe even taking a trip to your local firestation.

CO2 extinguishers sound good but I know there might be a problem as they get extremely cold.

Powder/foam extinguishers might pose a problem with suffocation etc (and make a hell of a mess)

Water might not be suitable for paraffin.

Please let us know if you find out or anyone else out there who already knows for that matter

MArk P

hey
when we burn somebody at my stunt group i've heard that they use an "air" extiguisher, might just be a CO2 one, but i think all the others would suffocate the one burning... might be a good idea to ask some special fx people...
hope it helped
SaBBaS

yo, so i've asked trintek of TX, who is a pyrotech, to post up here on this one.

To the best of my knowledge, fire extinguishers aren't really supposed to be used on people. CO2 extinguishers can suffocate or give severe frost burns if shot in the face.

A real fire blanket would seem like a way better idea if someONE is on fire.

of course, when we burn somebody, they have lots and lots of special clothing on and got their face and hair covered in some strange jelly which doesn't burn, so perhaps that's why they are not affected by cold fire extiguisher...
and of course we have fire blankets ready in case the extinguishers don't work...
these stunts are prepared by proffs, i am not really involved, we just run around burning and stuff
but i know they told me something that they were full of air, perhaps meant CO2, not sure...

[ 26 September 2002, 10:19: Message edited by: SaBBaS ]

hey there - we bought our extinguisher from JuggleArt for about $30 aus.

Don't know the ins and outs of it, but they sell it in conjunction with their fuel... You can always email them and ask for a data sheet on it.

Fortunately, we've never had to use ours in the 1.5yrs we've had it *touches wood* so I really don't know ANYTHING about it!

cheers, when I get time I wil pop along to the fire station and ask as I am curious myself.

I will also check out your link flash

most fireextinguishers issued by the fire department or bought for places of work need to be serviced every year but I dont know if this is entirely necessary

I worked checking fire extinguishers for a few weeks ages ago, unless they've changed the rules in the last 9 years, fire extinguishers in the uk need to be serviced every year, and have the contents and gas cartridge replaced every 10 years.
The servicing is generally just unscrewing the top and making sure everything's still attached where it should be - just a cursory glance, then sign the service history.

I'll just point out again though, that this is from 9 years ago, so it may well be out of date by now, and may well not apply anywhere outside the uk.

Don't wear flammable clothes coz you don't wanna spray ANYONE with any type of extinguisher if at all possible (especially co2, afff or dry powder).

And if you're into this planning fing, don't do fire indoors - lol.

Probably gonna get loads of abuse for being "non-safety" conscious but unless you're doing Fire Breathing and stuff then i wouldn't bother with one to start with

Just my thoughts, and since I know how fucked my tiny twisted little mind is, then feel free to ignore

Stay Green

After adding (what I hoped to be) advice earlier, I'm now going to suggest a fireblanket instead, for a few reasons.

You can use it to put people out without worrying about hurting them

You can use it to smother your poi

You can use it to wrap all your stuff up so you don't get soot everywhere (just make sure there's no fuel on it before you want to use it again)

You can use it to sit on after you've stopped spinning.

Oh, and they're not as much hassle to carry either

I touched on this on another thread earlier today. After working with our local fire department, here's what we've learned.

Chemical (ABC, BC) extinguishers: ABC will work on all fire types; BC will only work on chemical and electrical.

CO2 extinguishers: flammable liquid and chemical fires (like fuel dumps or spills).

Water extinguishers: People.

Fire blankets: People, small fires. If a person is heavily engulfed in flame, you may not be able to get close enough to them to use a blanket, so have water extinguisher on hand.

Most local fire departments have some sort of program to refill extinguishers free of charge. If your area doesn't have this sort of program, look in the local phone directory for fire equipment retailers. Often reconditioned (refilled) extinguishers are much cheaper, and equally effective, since they must pass inspection.

We use a combination of all these things for our folks, as well as inherently flame-retardant clothing, and protective gel, such as ZelGel or Action FireJel. The best way to stay safe is to take proper precautions, train your safeties in proper use of equipment and have an emergency plan everyone knows about, and knows their role in. Having someone with medical training on hand is also well-advised.

Here's a good link that explains more about them, and how best to use them.

[ 19 October 2002, 05:48: Message edited by: SilverEyes ]

ha ha ha

Silver Eyes!

what an excellent post, clears up so much, & a great link to my backyard here at Los Angeles Fire Department.

now i remember the US rating codes A, B, C, forgot all about that since my last time window-shopping for extinguishers.

got your details in the other thread. . . the Knagi hates idiots who set people on fire thread!

good one!

A large pool.

Vaporloc - I nominate you for the firespinner into the pool trick. Let me know when and where - we'll sell tickets and split the proceeds

sorry it took me so long to post (for an explanation of where i have been, read my intro).

Ok, for most fire stuff, i use co2 or halon, co2 being substantially safer. With powder or foam extinguishers you run the risk of trashing someone's lungs and eyes, if they are allergic to the chemicals in the foam or powder, you also risk giving them chem burns.

co2 is great, just keep at least 18-24" away from the person and use small bursts. Halon is similar, except halon will quickly fill up your lungs and is harder to exhale.

hope this helps
Trin

yo Trin,

thanks for jumpin over, sorry to hear about your bike bust-up, good & speedy recovery, son.

when ya do pop in here again, even if ya turn out to be occupied for a while before ya do, when do you ever use halon & why, since ya say CO2 sounds like it's always better?

co2 is great for just about everything, including people (to a point), the main reason i still use halon is... more bang for your buck.

Water puts out a fire by cooling, co2 puts out a fire by smothering, halon 1211 cools and smothers a fire, as well as chemically interfering with the combustion process. Most of the halon extinguishers I have used weigh about 1/4 of a comparable co2 extinguisher (10lbs for a low pressure aluminum halon, 43lbs for a high pressure steel co2), so lugging it around and aiming is much easier and more quickly accomplished.

The main place i use halon is indoor venues, as it extinguishes quicker than any other chemical i have used, doesn't trash any of the venue's electronics, doesn't require cleanup, has an effective range of 10-15 feet, and (my favourite part) it blankets an area and greatly reduces the risk of flashbacks.

the only real problems i run into are, trying to find large halon 1211 extinguishers, and cost. I still keep a 'halon marketing' 1.25lb extinguisher around for clubs, but have switched the larger one over to an 'amerex' 11lb halotron extinguisher. (weighs in at about 23lbs , 11lbs of halotron 1, 12lbs of bottle and valve)

and same to you man, hope you recover from your vapor attack soon, i've been lucky so far, worst thing i have had happen when blowing is, drinking about a shot while not the most pleasant experience (nothing better than chemical belches) I am quite sure it had to be better than inhaling it

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for all your input here. Will have to see about the extinguisher, but from what everyone says, looks like a fire blanket is a definate must have.

Thanks again.

Damia.