Best way to fight a car fire.

[flyinlow]

I have dry chemical fire extinguishers in both Chargers. Trunk mounted 10 BC.

If you have an engine fire ,what is the most effective way to fight it?  I have stopped at accidents and put out small fuel leak fires. I know you shoot at the base of the fire. Do you open the hood? Shoot thru the grill?  If you are by yourself, do you shoot the bottle first or call the Fire department first?

[Lennard]

My preference is halon or foam because dry chemical will eat metal if not cleaned sufficient afterwards and possibly mess with the electronics but it is better than nothing. I prefer foam because halon will be blown away easy by the wind but is the least damaging.
Call the fire department first in case you can not kill the fire with what you have available and have your extinguisher ready to go before you open the hood because as soon as the hood opens you ad more air to feed the fire.
Always remember with a handheld fire extinguisher:

P               Pull
A               Aim
S               Squeeze
S               Sweep

Also, if you have a dry chemical (powder) extinguisher in your car permanently... shake the thing once a month or so to loosen up the powder.
It will become one compact brick of powder otherwise from driving around with it for a long time and when you need it to get out it will not loosen up to do so.

[bull]

Opening the hood can be bad news as you know because it will introduce a new source of oxygen and the flames will head right toward your face. But you really can't shoot through the grill and be effective so your best bet is to crouch down as you open the hood, let it get its oxygen and settle back down before you shoot the retardant. Most extinguishers have so little retardant in them that it's difficult to really plan your shot but when I've done it I tried to raise the bottle up to about shoulder height and shoot downward at the flame with a sweeping motion.

Firefighter Ron would be a good sourse of info on this I would think.

[Lennard]

Firefighter Ron would be a good sourse of info on this I would think.

What's wrong with Firefighter Lenn's info?

[bull]

You don't have "firefighter" in your username so obviously he knows better.

[Lennard]

 

[resq302]

The small ABC Dry chem extinguishers are good IF you catch the fire early enough.  If you have flames blowing out of the engine bay already when the hood is down, you likely don't have enough extinguishing agent in the extinguisher to put it out.   They are good for small fires or fires caught early enough that can be at least knocked down to the point of smoldering till the professionals (like Ron, Lennard, bakerhilpins, and myself) arrive with the proper equipment.

But like Lennard said the P.A.S.S. method is what is generally taught aiming for the base of the fire.

One other thing to remember.... no two fires are the same.  Some cars have magnesium engines (very bad idea to put water on by the way) which will give you a nice shower of sparks when you add water if they are fire.  Other fires will have flamable liquids where you need AFFF (Aqueous film forming foam) vs. putting water on it which could end up spreading the fire (ex. grease fires - usually doesn't do well with water).  However, wood fires (ordinary combusitbles) are fine to use a pressurized water can on.

[bakerhillpins]

I have dry chemical fire extinguishers in both Chargers. Trunk mounted 10 BC.

If you have an engine fire ,what is the most effective way to fight it?  I have stopped at accidents and put out small fuel leak fires. I know you shoot at the base of the fire. Do you open the hood? Shoot thru the grill?  If you are by yourself, do you shoot the bottle first or call the Fire department first?

You always call the fire department first regardless of the fire. NO EXCEPTIONS. 

[resq302]

Also a good rule is if you are trying to put out any vehicle fire : 2 things..... 1- stand up hill from the fire!  Should any fuel or any other flamable liquid be leaking and it catches fire, it will be going away from you and you will be out of harms way.  2- stand up wind from the fire!  You will be in fresher air as any toxic gasses and smoke will most likely go down wind.

Biggest safety rule!  If you see a vehicle that has ANY kind of safety placard on it, move away!  Fire Dept's have special hazmat books with codes as to what might be carried in the vehicle and even then it does not guarantee that the driver changed it out from the last load or is even what he might legally be carrying!

I have watched too many videos where people see someone laying on the ground at an accident involving a transportation truck or tractor trailer and other people go running up to help and they too drop to the ground.  Why?  Well that delivery truck could be carrying a poisonous gas and the accident could have ruptured the container or caused a small enough leak to become deadly.  If you go running into the scene with out any information, you most likely will be come a statistic yourself!

[66chargertoy]

Another important item that is thought us during training from the beginning here at the fire department in Ottawa, and everywhere else : With newer cars, do not stand in front or the rear of a burning vehicle. Under extreme heat, the compressed shock cylinders for the bumpers can and often will explode sending a flying projectile towards you. This can be quite dangerous and in some cases, fatal.

[flyinlow]

A woman rolled her car into our front yard a couple years ago. The car stopped on it side . My wife called 911 and grabbed the first aid kit while I grabbed one of our house dry chemical bottles. The woman was bleeding and struggling to get out. While tiring to calm her, the broken fuel line caught fire. The hood had been ripped off and I could see the fire develop. So my Wife and a neighbor helped the woman get out while I put the fire out. The The 30BC put the fire out instantly, but it flared up again as fuel kept dribbling out and took a second shot. We moved everyone away until the Firemen arrived.

The other time I caught my 68 Charger's leaking Holley on fire with the car on jack stands in my Fathers new garage . Dry chemical to the rescue. Worked well,big mess.

[flyinlow]

On an aircraft the fire bottles have discharge racks the direct the agent into the areas where the fire would develop. I wondered about a couple simple metal tubes on a car . Thru the grill or from the wheel well that would direct the contents of your fire extinguisher's to most likely areas: fuel pump,.PS pump ,carb and headers.      That way you would not have to open the hood letting in oxygen. Would need to switch to halon or CO2 .   

[resq302]

Halon and CO2 are great because they just displace / remove the oxygen from the fire tetrahedron without damaging any electrical components.  However, you can't remove ALL of the oxygen from the fire as, well, we would die in the process.  The dry chem works well as it interupts the chemical reaction that continues the combustion process by essentially "coating" flamable liquids and acts as a barrier between the combustible item and the oxygen.

With todays cars getting more and more advanced, it is harder and harder to extricate someone from a car or put out fires due to non standardized locations of batteries, air bags, and other once metal / now plastic components.  Our department has a guide book and before we start ANY work on a car, we have to read up on where batteries, air bags, and other sensitive stuff is for our own safety.  Lets face it, if we get hurt or killed trying to help you, we ain't going to be able to help you anymore if we are just as injured or worse, dead!

[Todd Wilson]

I was out at the John Deere dealership last week and they had cans of stuff out there that looked intersting. Appears to be a normal aerosol can of fire putter outter.  The company had several products and one was called cold steel. Designed to cool stuff down during welding. I forget what the fire stuff was called.  Thought this might be good to carry in ther vehicles.


Todd

[elacruze]

Here's my $.02 plus an anecdote.

I carry a home-sized CO2 extinguisher in the car. Plus, when on a trip of any sort I usually have a cooler with dry ice in the bottom-and should the opportunity present itself, I'd toss the CO2 brick under the engine so it can help eliminate oxygen. Just a thought.

Anecdote; guy on the side of the local dirt road with smoke coming out the grille. We stop and grab an extinguisher. Police show up first, and as we approach with the FE the cop tells us to stand back. At this point, there are no flames evident and only enough smoke to know it's getting worse. Long story short, the cop kept us from using the extinguisher and the car burned to the ground before the FD showed up to water down the smoldering carcass. Sadly, the FD station was less than 2 miles away.

Use your extinguisher first if it looks like it will save the car. If it fails, it probably didn't matter that you tried anyway.

Of course, there's always the safety-minded opinion that you shouldn't do anything so dangerous as look after your own stuff anyway-after all, that's what taxes and insurance are for.

[DAY CLONA]

Here's my $.02 plus an anecdote.

I carry a home-sized CO2 extinguisher in the car. Plus, when on a trip of any sort I usually have a cooler with dry ice in the bottom-and should the opportunity present itself, I'd toss the CO2 brick under the engine so it can help eliminate oxygen. Just a thought.

Anecdote; guy on the side of the local dirt road with smoke coming out the grille. We stop and grab an extinguisher. Police show up first, and as we approach with the FE the cop tells us to stand back. At this point, there are no flames evident and only enough smoke to know it's getting worse. Long story short, the cop kept us from using the extinguisher and the car burned to the ground before the FD showed up to water down the smoldering carcass. Sadly, the FD station was less than 2 miles away.

Use your extinguisher first if it looks like it will save the car. If it fails, it probably didn't matter that you tried anyway.

Of course, there's always the safety-minded opinion that you shouldn't do anything so dangerous as look after your own stuff anyway-after all, that's what taxes and insurance are for.

Sorry, but if it was me, I would have told the cop if he couldn't offer any help, then get the F&C# out of my way...and at least tried to save the dudes car from burning up

[elacruze]

Here's my $.02 plus an anecdote.

I carry a home-sized CO2 extinguisher in the car. Plus, when on a trip of any sort I usually have a cooler with dry ice in the bottom-and should the opportunity present itself, I'd toss the CO2 brick under the engine so it can help eliminate oxygen. Just a thought.

Anecdote; guy on the side of the local dirt road with smoke coming out the grille. We stop and grab an extinguisher. Police show up first, and as we approach with the FE the cop tells us to stand back. At this point, there are no flames evident and only enough smoke to know it's getting worse. Long story short, the cop kept us from using the extinguisher and the car burned to the ground before the FD showed up to water down the smoldering carcass. Sadly, the FD station was less than 2 miles away.

Use your extinguisher first if it looks like it will save the car. If it fails, it probably didn't matter that you tried anyway.

Of course, there's always the safety-minded opinion that you shouldn't do anything so dangerous as look after your own stuff anyway-after all, that's what taxes and insurance are for.

Sorry, but if it was me, I would have told the cop if he couldn't offer any help, then get the F&C# out of my way...and at least tried to save the dudes car from burning up

We tried that but of course he bristled up and offered handcuffs. Seriously.

[wingcar]

If it's a Chevy or Ford it's best to let it burn itself out.......

[hatersaurusrex]

Also, if you have a dry chemical (powder) extinguisher in your car permanently... shake the thing once a month or so to loosen up the powder.
It will become one compact brick of powder otherwise from driving around with it for a long time and when you need it to get out it will not loosen up to do so.

I think there are lots of us who won't have to do that at all... bad bushings will take care of it all by themselves

[Lennard]

I think there are lots of us who won't have to do that at all... bad bushings will take care of it all by themselves

Better safe than sorry, I know that I don't want to find out the hard way.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

If it's a Chevy or Ford it's best to let it burn itself out.......

Safety first.

[Ghoste]

Going all the way up to the original post, I don't keep mine in the trunk.  The last thing I want to do is add the step of getting the keys out, getting to the rear of the car (and hopefully there isn't traffic preventing that) inserting keys into the lock, opening the trunk, locating and freeing the extinguisher and then hurrying back to the fire, which is most likely at the front of the vehicle.

[flyinlow]

Going all the way up to the original post, I don't keep mine in the trunk.  The last thing I want to do is add the step of getting the keys out, getting to the rear of the car (and hopefully there isn't traffic preventing that) inserting keys into the lock, opening the trunk, locating and freeing the extinguisher and then hurrying back to the fire, which is most likely at the front of the vehicle.

Yea , I debated that. I have the ex tingusher mounted in a bracket that holds it near the top of the trunk on the left so that even with a full trunk it is accessible, but it's still requires a key. An electric release would help with that. Inside the cab would be faster , as long as it securely mounted so it doesn't turn into a missile in a crash.  Having hood pins is not going to help either, but the hood is fiberglass , I will just wait until a hole burns thru it  .

[Ghoste]

You may need a bigger extinguisher by that point. 

[myk]

I keep mine tucked between my fat Pro-car seat and the brackets that used to hold my long-gone console.  Ass-hats at car shows/cruises and whatnot think I keep it there to look cool but the truth is: duh! I'm driving a 500 year old car-no telling what's going to happen and I want to be ready for it.  Although, with my completely new wiring the possibility of a fire is probably minimal but still...

[oldcarnut]

I was out at the John Deere dealership last week and they had cans of stuff out there that looked intersting. Appears to be a normal aerosol can of fire putter outter.  The company had several products and one was called cold steel. Designed to cool stuff down during welding. I forget what the fire stuff was called.  Thought this might be good to carry in ther vehicles.


Todd

This it?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgu9YYnO8I0

[bill440rt]

All good info here.

I keep mine just behind the driver's seat in the rear footwell. Halon extinguishers.
Just saw one of them was reading low on gauge (it's a little old), so a replacement is in order.

[resq302]

Bill,

I know one of the Halon's (maybe 1311 or something like that) was outlawed about 10 years or so ago.  Something to do with it harming the ozone.     Ya know, stuff that is heavier than air getting up into the atmosphere.  (must be putting it on rockets or something since I still and fathom how it is happening since it is HEAVIER than air).  There might be a replacement for the Halon now though, maybe a different number.   

[HOTROD]

I just use antifreeze haha.
I pass a car that was fire, this guy was trying to put it out with his shirt --I poled over poped my trunk grabbed a rag was walking over to his car ,the hole elect. was on fire and I could hear the radiator gurgling -grab-ed the over flow tube yanked it off opened the radiator cap holding it down just enough to hose the engine bay down!!
saved his ass he said he just got it out of the shop !