Please check your fire extinguisher - a cautionary tale!
Discussion
A cautionary tale!
I had a fire at home yesterday. Was warming up the barbecue in the garden. I went inside to get the meat out of the fridge, and I heard a crackling noise outside. Went out to find that some plants growing up the wall of my house and garage were on fire. This is exactly where I have my garden hose, so I tried to spray the fire with water but the water pressure was so low that I could barely get more than a dribble out of the spray gun.
I remembered that I have a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen, so I went inside and grabbed it. By the time I came out, the fire was raging up the wall and through the plants, with flames leaoing 20-30 feet into the air. That's it, I thought! So I ripped the safety tab from the fire extinguisher and discharged it into the area towards the bottom of where most of the flames were coming from.
Thankfully, I managed to completely put out the fire, but it's shocking how fast it takes hold. So no real harm done in the end, but if I hadn't had a fire extinguisher, the outcome could have been so very different. The whole thing was over in less than 30 seconds from when I heard the crackling sound.
I'm still not entirely sure how the fire started. The barbecue is a good distance away from where the fire started. I can only imagine a cinder floated off and landed on some particularly dry dead leaves that had been inside the mass of foliage going up the wall. Now that I've torn away a lot of the foliage, a veritable nest of dry old leaves has fallen out!
If there's any lesson to be learned, I'm not sure that it's don't have a barbecue. Probably, it's to be more diligent about removing deal leaves. But certainly, it's make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand, and check the pressure gauge once or twice a year to make sure it will work. I had the extinguisher but I didn't check it regularly. And as I've had it for about 30 years, that wasn't a certainty. Thankfully it worked its magic and disaster has been averted by the skin of my teeth!
I've ordered three class ABC powder extinguishers to replace it. One big 9kg one for the garage, where I sometimes weld or braze things, and a 1kg and a 2kg one for the kitchen and to keep in the utility room. They aren't very expensive and I may well have saved my house because I had it on hand quickly.
I had a fire at home yesterday. Was warming up the barbecue in the garden. I went inside to get the meat out of the fridge, and I heard a crackling noise outside. Went out to find that some plants growing up the wall of my house and garage were on fire. This is exactly where I have my garden hose, so I tried to spray the fire with water but the water pressure was so low that I could barely get more than a dribble out of the spray gun.
I remembered that I have a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen, so I went inside and grabbed it. By the time I came out, the fire was raging up the wall and through the plants, with flames leaoing 20-30 feet into the air. That's it, I thought! So I ripped the safety tab from the fire extinguisher and discharged it into the area towards the bottom of where most of the flames were coming from.
Thankfully, I managed to completely put out the fire, but it's shocking how fast it takes hold. So no real harm done in the end, but if I hadn't had a fire extinguisher, the outcome could have been so very different. The whole thing was over in less than 30 seconds from when I heard the crackling sound.
I'm still not entirely sure how the fire started. The barbecue is a good distance away from where the fire started. I can only imagine a cinder floated off and landed on some particularly dry dead leaves that had been inside the mass of foliage going up the wall. Now that I've torn away a lot of the foliage, a veritable nest of dry old leaves has fallen out!
If there's any lesson to be learned, I'm not sure that it's don't have a barbecue. Probably, it's to be more diligent about removing deal leaves. But certainly, it's make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand, and check the pressure gauge once or twice a year to make sure it will work. I had the extinguisher but I didn't check it regularly. And as I've had it for about 30 years, that wasn't a certainty. Thankfully it worked its magic and disaster has been averted by the skin of my teeth!
I've ordered three class ABC powder extinguishers to replace it. One big 9kg one for the garage, where I sometimes weld or braze things, and a 1kg and a 2kg one for the kitchen and to keep in the utility room. They aren't very expensive and I may well have saved my house because I had it on hand quickly.
If you buy powder ones make a mental note to turn them upside-down and give them a gentle shake every month or so, as over time the power can settle and compact. Especially in a garage where it may be subject to vibrations from an air compressor or other tools.
I work in a safety-focused industry and it amazes me that things we take for granted (like even just owning a fire extinguisher or fire blanket) is completely off some peoples radar.
I work in a safety-focused industry and it amazes me that things we take for granted (like even just owning a fire extinguisher or fire blanket) is completely off some peoples radar.
Having seen how quickly a fence fire can take hold I can appreciate how lucky you were. However, powder extinguishers are really bad for leaving residue especially whe used indoors: a neighbour was still cleaning up a month later when she used one in the kitchen. Have a look at water mist extinguishers:
https://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/p50-service...
You can use them on almost any fire.
https://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/p50-service...
You can use them on almost any fire.
Good call OP. My extinguisher is covered in thick dust.
Also thank you for the link, will refresh.
Last year I rode my motorbike past a house fire.
It was initially smoke in the upstairs front window. I stopped, ran up to the door to be met by the home owner coming out. I said anyone else in there?
He immediately turned round, shut and locked the door. Then reopened with a clawing cat drawing blood on his arms (probably a house cat). He then immediately locked the door and walked off.
As he did this the same window blew out completely and the entire frame landed next to me. Upstairs now was absolutely raging. Really frightening to behold - I can’t guess how long it had been but it can’t have been more than 30seconds all in.
That was upstairs so a kitchen small fire if it could be addressed sharpish should stop anyone getting trapped
Also thank you for the link, will refresh.
Last year I rode my motorbike past a house fire.
It was initially smoke in the upstairs front window. I stopped, ran up to the door to be met by the home owner coming out. I said anyone else in there?
He immediately turned round, shut and locked the door. Then reopened with a clawing cat drawing blood on his arms (probably a house cat). He then immediately locked the door and walked off.
As he did this the same window blew out completely and the entire frame landed next to me. Upstairs now was absolutely raging. Really frightening to behold - I can’t guess how long it had been but it can’t have been more than 30seconds all in.
That was upstairs so a kitchen small fire if it could be addressed sharpish should stop anyone getting trapped
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