Greetings,
I just thought I'd throw a little gas on the fire here;^)
>The alternatives are dry chemical, which can cause vision problems and
>dizzyiness almost instantly, and CO2 which in concentrations adequate >to
>extinguish, will cause unconsciousness in a few minutes and death >within
>20 minutes.
There is another alternative. I have a product from Summit Environmental
Corp. (NFI)
http://www.seci-us.com/
It's called Fire Power 911 and I bought it from a gentleman who demonstrated
it during "social" at a club race I attended at Laguna Seca. It comes in a
small container and is easy to use for people who've never used
extinguishers before.
I was fairly impressed with the demo and though I fortunately haven't had
the opportunity to extinguish a fire with this stuff I wouldn't hesitate to
try it. The part that impressed me most was a claim that it would cool human
skin sufficiently to prevent serious burns. My high school auto shop teacher
(a Sunbeam Tiger guy) was burned pretty bad by a gasoline fire, so anything
that can help there is great.
I've been through SCCA fire school and don't think you would demo any
product to us without being pretty confident. We use mainly water and dry
chem, depending on what's burning (water works fine for fiberglass) Our
crews work CART, Sports Car, NASCAR, and other pro events so we've seen a
few fires. I in no way speak for the club, but I hope SCCA evaluates this
product soon.
Although it's only rated "class 1 A" it seems to work on everything else (I
actually watched this guy put out a magnesium fire with this stuff!!) Clean
up is easy, just hose it off.
However, it doesn't matter how much of a mess it makes if it keeps someone
from getting burned, protect life before property!
Let the car burn to the ground if it has to as long as everyone gets out. I
once slammed the hood down on a car that was experiencing a small battery
fire. The owner (an attractive woman) was blowing on the flames trying to
extinguish it even though a fire station was less than 100 yards away. The
battery exploded a few moments later and she was angry with me for letting
her car burn!! That's gratitude for ya....
I presently own both dry chem and halon extinguishers, but this new
technology should be considered for use in our cars.
Bottom line....
CARRY AN EXTINGUISHER IN ALL YOUR VEHICLES!!
KEEP ONE IN YOUR KITCHEN AND GARAGE TOO!!!
IT'S THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY TOOL YOU CAN HAVE!!!!
Cheers,
John Matthews
'61 Herald
'63 TR 4
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