Extinguishers banned as a fire safety hazard

[Julbri 0]

I didn't check the extinguishers on site. Those were routinely checked by other staff and were always in working order.

You shouldn't need to check the presure and all that when your about to put out a fire if its correctly maintianed and checked routinely.

[Nmenth 291]

These things could be dangerous, I mean, say there is a fire, then a potential candidate grabs an extinguisher...

Unfortunately, by the time he is done brushing up on the instructions, checking the class, noting the pressure, verifying the date, inspecting the combustibles, examining the location, recalling his training, calculating the spray direction, and test-firing it, some untrained person might have put it out and then slipped in the foam and got a concussion.

[Chronojam 3]

There actually have been books and articles written about fire extinguishers and the value they provide, but most people are honestly putting themselves too much at risk; they end up becoming overconfident, and that's why so many professional groups and governments consider them ironically dangerous.

 

I can't tell if you guys are just ****** trolls or once again you just don't "get" it.

[Julbri 0]

I completely understand what your getting at and my personal opinion differs. yes they can be dangerous but i believe that if they are routinely maintained and checked and you know how to basicly to use them, coupled with a tinyest little bit of common sence and someone who realises there not imortal they can be a safe and useful tool to save money and profesionals time.

[Mina Synd 0]

well you have to take into account that most houses in the uk (in flats/apartment blocks) have RED CO2 fire extinguishers. ie; class A for small fires which are started with wood or whatever that you can put out with water. we used to have one when i lived in london, and i think we still have one somewhere buried in one of the cuboards in the kitchen (not that i could find it in an emergency...)

 

problem is most fires in flats are caused by either 1) cooking 2) cigerettes. if it's a ciggie fire then you could probably put it out. chances are the fire would be in a bedroom or living room... probably a lot of simple fabric materials. so you MAY be able to put it out with a CO2 if you acted quickly enough.

 

if it's a kitchen fire, it's most likely going to be an OIL fire. if you sprayed it with a CO2, it would make the fire get MUCH bigger. and if you've been in a small london flat, this is REALLY not a good idea. they are tiny concrete rooms with basic wallpaper or paint. most flats are from the 70's and 80's with the big concrete jungle boom. the buildings are all WAY under par with current fire laws. most of the installed systems (electrical and kitchen) are also dated and under par.

 

you REALLY don't want to try putting out a kitchen fire with a CO2 extinguisher in a room the same size as most bathrooms which is also filled with electricals and flammables. personally i think people should be educated in fire control and offered all the different extinguishers they would need, and keeping them stored in appropriate locations. when i lived in london i would regually see the fire brigade putting out houses or cars in the area so i know just how devastating the effects can be.

 

i don't claim to be a firefighter or any of that crud, but i'm PARANOID about my house burning down enough to look into things like that and study it so i don't run the risk of dying horribly. that said, at current my room is probably one big fire hazard. i've got numerous electrical devices plugged into about two sockets, and they are on all the time when i'm awake... and i never dust so behind the direct area i use there are thick layers of dust bunnies x3;

 

but yah. personally i think this is a good idea. i've heard too many stories of people trying to put fires out with the wrong extinguishers and making the fire increase painfully fast, or actually managing to set themselves on fire in the process. i've actually seen this happen first hand at school. funny story... this girl set fire to a table and our science teacher freaked out because they had just been cleaned with some kind of flammable anti-bacterial agent. (though the tables were non-flammable themselves...) and it was growing larger surprisingly slowly but he panicked and grabbed a CO2 extinguisher. because of the cleaning agent it suddenly just went FWOOM and set his jacket arm on fire as well as the whole table xD

 

he was fine. sadly we didn't get the day off school, though i think the fire services got called. i don't think the girl got in any (serious) trouble... the teacher pretty much agreed to drop the subject because he caused most of the damage xD i loved that science teacher. if you got him angry enough he would get the shakes and turn bright red... looked like he was gonna totally snap and have a breakdown at any moment X3;; aaaah kids are so cruel ^-^

[Julbri 0]

My favorite science teacher was a Brit. Used to spend whole lessons telling jokes and story's and I somehow managed to learn a lot. His classroom has burn marks on all the walls, blinds and ceilings. BioBen do you know what type of extinguisher he has?? Im sure he has one and a bucket of sand but im not sure.

[Chronojam 3]

I completely understand what your getting at and my personal opinion differs. yes they can be dangerous but i believe that if they are routinely maintained and checked and you know how to basicly to use them, coupled with a tinyest little bit of common sence and someone who realises there not imortal they can be a safe and useful tool to save money and profesionals time.

Unfortunately they're often not, and often they don't. It's not even some kind of "invincibility complex" either, people just don't at all realize how fast a fire spreads or the dangers of smoke inhalation etc. You know how "common sense" says to not re-enter a burning room/building to grab something and yet you get people trying anyways? Presenting a fire extinguisher might give them what they feel is a convincing/rational reason/capacity to do it.

 

I'm not saying YOU don't know and realize right at this moment all the facets of fire extinguisher use, or implying you're lax on verifying your cylinder integrity or pressure indicators. But I cannot assume for a moment that your average Joe on the street will be ready and capable when he comes across a fire, especially if it wasn't one he saw start. Your microwave on the counter caught on fire when you were cooking? Alright, you can probably grab your inspected and full electrical-safe extinguisher and go to town. The stock room catches fire at the grocery store? Who knows if the employees are ready to deal with it.

[Mighty BOB! 5]

Do you have a fire extinguisher? - There's one out in the hall here at the 'dorms', at home there is 1 in the garage, 1 in the barn, and 1 in the laundry room.

 

What agent is contained within? - C02 if I had to guess for the 1 out in the hall. At home there is 1 c02 and 2 powder.

 

What is its maximum capacity? - Dunno about the one in the hall; at home, eh, "smal" "small" and "big."

 

What is the current gauge reading? - Last I checked the ones at home (about 6 months ago when I was home on vacation), all gauges were nominal. Dunno about the one in the hall.

 

When did you last test-fire it? - Never fired the one in the hall, at home, it's been a couple years.

 

If you haven't, when did you last test-fire any fire extinguisher? - Couple of years ago.

 

How many fires have you stopped? - Several dozen although most of them were controlled brush burns. A couple were not controlled though.

 

 

I'd rather have the exinguishers around in the event that the fire is small enough for me to contain quickly. If it isn't though I'm getting the hell out.

[Mina Synd 0]

well i'm pretty sure the points of this are that most average people (remembering that once again, the majority of any country are low intelligence...) wouldn't have a clue. all they know, it that the device is a fire extinguisher and that is a fire. they put two and two together and try to work it, reading the instructions enough to work the thing or just trying it. most people i've seen put out fires don't even realise you can move the funnel and hose around instead of leaving it stuck to the extinguisher body xD

 

now this is all fair if the right extinguishers are in the right place... but if you get them mixed up, more times then not it'll end up in a bigger fire or simply not having any effect at all. all this has done is left the person in with the fire for longer... probably resulting in them inhaling invisible fumes or allowing the fire to spread more.

 

if you have a fire extinguisher in the house, anyone old enough to even lift the thing should be taught how to use it. as well as taught basic fire safety... it's fair enough for a healthy adult to try fighting a fire, but what about a child or an old person? even if they manage to put the fire out, they may inhale plastic vapours or something which is enough to damage them internally... is it really worth it?

 

personally i don't think so. okay, yes, a lot more items and possibly even whole properties may end up being destroyed in the time it takes a fire service to get there... but surely that is better then having someone -die- or end up with permanent side effects from either inhaling chemicals or suffering burns... and if the fire is that small, it could probably be dealt with in other means anyway. if it's big enough to make someone think they need an extinguisher, it's probably going to get out of control in a short period of time anyhow...

 

if fire extinguishers stay, train the people how to use them properly, and tell them in what situation they should run and what situation they should fight. just basic fire safety would probably save so many lives every day :\

[Inferno 22]

Do you have a fire extinguisher? No.

What agent is contained within? -

What is its maximum capacity? -

What is the current guage reading? -

When did you last test-fire it? -

If you haven't, when did you last test-fire any fire extinguisher? -

How many fires have you stopped? 0

 

:v

[Mina Synd 0]

i think mine is the same as infernos xD we might actually HAVE an extinguisher. if we do, it's hidden somewhere in one of the kitchen cuboards o.O i dunno where... i think i used one in school on a "fire safety" day when the fire brigade came to teach us... but that was a loooong time ago x3;

[Inferno 22]

We don't, but we do have smoke detectors, so just get the **** out the house once they go off

Edited December 8, 2008 by Inferno

[Doctor Destiny 41]

We don't, but we do have smoke detectors, so just get the **** out the house once they go off

Same here. Old house had an extinguisher though.

[Mina Synd 0]

i know we have smoke detectors everywhere xD i think you are meant to test them every month or something as recommended by (british) fire safety... though generally firemen and accident investigators will tell you to check it every day...

 

i can understand safety first and all that but personally i think that's being a -tad- paranoid... i think we do our's every year or something like that. a lot less then we SHOULD do. but generally apart from my room we have pretty good fire safety... (i just have a lot of gadgets plugged into two sockets. like a 5 - 7 slot adapter thingie plugged into each one x3) but in all honesty there are at least 4 fuses on the router the electricity has to travel in the house (fuse box, socket, adapters, device plug :3) so i should notice if something trips. the only problem is if a fuse DOES blow i'm buggered because i don't think we have replacements anywhere >_>

[Inferno 22]

We never inspect our smoke detectors, and we have like 2 in the house

[Doctor Destiny 41]

We have several and they work just fine. Well, until the battery dies and the thing beeps FOREVER at you.

[Duke 0]

Yeah. I do agree that they really could save your life - and do save lives.

[VampireA05 0]

 

there's your problem.

[Julbri 0]

 

there's your problem.

where was that photo taken? new zealand has the same type of power plugs.

 

That could also solve the problem of people who are not to sure abou fire extinquishers using them

[Doctor Destiny 41]

lolhandgrenade

[VampireA05 0]

i think China or Taiwan...

 

anyway...you all can visit the link. lots of stuff there...LOL

[Mina Synd 0]

engrish.com is a pretty reliable site i know that much. all the photos sent in get studied and proved either real or fake... some of the things on there are amazing xD

 

but hand grenade... XD where the heck did they even get that from? o-O but eh whatever x3; all i know is if you are gonna have fire extinguishers in the house you need to be taught basic fire safety otherwise you're more a danger to yourself then an aid o.o;