Fire buckets/ Extinguishers ?? (1 Viewer)

[vindiboy]

We have just had an incident on a Rally we are at where a vans water heater caught fire, The water heater was situated under a seat and by the time the owner got to it it was well ablaze .Two fire extinguishers were employed on the fire, NEITHER WORKED, fortunately Camping Club rules state that Fire Buckets filled with water MUST be at each unit, these fire buckets saved the van from total destruction.I know that not all fires can be tackled with water but on this occasion they saved the van. So if you have an extinguisher in your van are you sure it will work when needed and will you always have a bucket filled with water at your unit? The damage estimate to the van is £2000. including cleaning of smoke damage, fortunately no one was injured in this incident.

 

[Ralph-Dot]

good advice

 

[gazznsam]

Bet the extinguishers that didnt work were dry powder ones that had never been taken off the mounting bracket for inspection and to shake the contents up.

The powder in the extinguisher will pack down due to the vibrations from the road, and form a solid cake which can not go up the discharge tube,

simple solution, turn it upside down and give it a good shake, you'll hear when the cake has broken up as the powder will be moving in the bottle.

I have a 2 litre extinguisher in the cab, a 3 litre in the living area by the door, a 500ml foam spray extinguisher near the kitchen and a fire blanket again near the kitchen area.

they each get a good looking over every month and a damn good shake up when i'm checking for other problems in the van... like leaking water pipes, failing window and roof vent seals, fixings coming loose and so on.

i've also been on a few courses where i got to discharge different fire extinguishers to put different fires out, (last one was when i did my hazchem training when i worked for a recovery firm, so i could attend tankers and the like involved in accidents)

I gather people know that you never direct the spray from a foam or dry powder extinguisher at the seat of the fire, you lay a blanket of the extinguishant over the source of the fire, as they work by smothering the flames... taking away the oxygen, and thus breaking the fire triangle.

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[scotjimland]

So if you have an extinguisher in your van are you sure it will work when needed and will you always have a bucket filled with water at your unit?

Good advice.. :thumb:

Fire buckets used to be common sights outside vans, but rarely seen these days..

Even though I have three dry powder extinguishers your post prompted me to fill a bucket and keep it handy..


dog loves it

Jim

 

[JayDee]

Good advice.. :thumb:

Fire buckets used to be common sights outside vans, but rarely seen these days..

Even though I have three dry powder extinguishers your post prompted me to fill a bucket and keep it handy..


dog loves it

Jim

So do chickens.

Taken on CS near Bembridge IOW.

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Shouldn't the bucket be nearer the door rather than on display !!!.

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[ourcampersbeentrashed]

we have a fire blanket and fire extinguisher both in our main home and the motorhome and shown our son how to use both.

Safety 1st then fun xxxxx

 

[JayDee]

Shouldn't the bucket be nearer the door rather than on display !!!.

If we'd had it near the habitation door we'd've kept falling over the hens.oh:

We always put it where it can be easily seen in case it is needed by others (beside the chickens that is); no good having it tucked away out of sight.

John