What type of fire extinguisher is in your shop?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'd like to get a small one for the shop.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Kidde dry chemical. My shop is too small for CO2 and I wouldn't want to asphixiate myself with it, but you can use either one as both are effective on wood fires. Besides, dry chem is much cheaper.

[Carl Beckett]

Yep - your basic home hardware variety (a medium size unit) hanging clearly by the door. (I dont want to be searching for it when the time comes that its needed)

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Kidde dry chemical

Same here. Keep it mounted in an easily accessible place - you don't want to have to fumble around looking for it.

[CPeter James]

CO2 is almost useless in a woodshop unless you have a liquid fire. Triclass dry chemical is a little better, but not much. A better and less expensive option is a pressurized water extinguisher with some dish detergent added to the water to break the surface tension. This backed up with a dry chemical for electrical fires would give you good protection. Small dry chemical fire extinguishers create a false sense of security. I like the then pound size and have them in my vehicles and around the house and garage. Get the good ones with metal valves that can be recharged. I pick up the pressurized water units at garage sales. You can fill them yourselves. The dish detergent will even create a smothering foam if you have the right nozzle on it or you can make you own nozzle to do this.

CPeter

[Steve Rowe]

Amerex 5 lb dry chemical mounted by door right under first aid kit. This brand has metal handle and mounting bracket unlike some other brands that have plastic handles and mounting brackets/straps. You won't find these at the big box stores. I purchased from a safety supply house for about $52 + tax.

Hope I never need it but, I am prepared.
198480

[Robert Chapman]

In addition to the standard Kidde 5lb fire extinguisher I have a unit from Griots Garage which hangs on the wall by the furnace in my shop. It holds 26lbs of ABC rated dry powder extinguisher which is released at 155 degrees F. Price $69.99. They also sell a larger ceiling mount extiquisher for $149.99 which I have in my garages and over my home furnace. Check www.griotsgarage.com (http://www.griotsgarage.com)

[glenn bradley]

Kidde A-B-C as recommended by the fire department here. I have one 5lb at each exit point and another smaller one there as well (bought before I realized I needed bigger units).

[mike holden]

I have two abc units. I only have one entrance to my basement shop, so I keep one at the far end of the basement so I can fight my way out if necessary.
Mike

[Chris Fournier]

ABC and I have a few of them. Front door, machine room and finishing room.

[Bill Huber]

I guess I am like most, have the Kidde A-B-C and it is placed where I can get to it very easily. For my little shop, 12x16 I think one will do me fine.

[John Coloccia]

Two Kiddie ABCs...one by the exit of my shop, and one on the interior. The interior one lets me fight my way out. The one by the exit removes the temptation to fight it out as I have to practically be standing in the front door to get to it.

[Charles Lent]

I have two 20 lb ABC dry chemical and one 20 lb CO2 extinguisher in my shop, and a connected garden hose with nozzle hanging just outside the door that will reach all the way around both the inside and outside of my shop. One dry chemical and the CO2 are located near the door and the other dry chemical is near the double door. You would be very surprised how little fire one of the smaller extinguishers (5 lb or less) can put out, especially in the hands of someone who hasn't had training in it's proper use. Although CO2 isn't rated for class A fires (wood and paper) it's surprising how much fire can be put out with it, and it leaves no mess afterward. You will be breathing and vacuuming the powder from a dry chemical fire extinguisher out of your shop for months after you have to use one. The CO2 is the perfect choice for electrical and paint fires.

I am a retired fire marshal.
Charley

[Steve Griffin]

Two posts talking about "fighting" your way out of a fire with a small extinquisher.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that is impossible and has never happened in the history of humans and fire. Might be best to focus on getting out, rather than fire suppression efforts....

-Steve

[John Coloccia]

Two posts talking about "fighting" your way out of a fire with a small extinquisher.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that is impossible and has never happened in the history of humans and fire. Might be best to focus on getting out, rather than fire suppression efforts....

-Steve

How do you get out if fire is blocking your way?

[Steve Griffin]

hold your breath and run like hell. it's your ONLY chance.

-Steve

[John Coloccia]

hold your breath and run like hell. it's your ONLY chance.

-Steve

Why on earth would I do that when I have a fire extinguisher right here that can at least help get some of the flames out of my way? Maybe they won't get everything out of my way but some is better than none I would say, especially depending on the severity. This is such a sweeping and general statement.

[Steve Griffin]

Then I'll make that sweeping general statement one more time:

IF the fire is too big to step over, around or quickly through, the fire is the least of your problems. There is absolutely no situation like that which you could fix with a small extinquisher.

-steve

[Karl Brogger]

Fire extinguisher? I'm not sure I'd bother calling the fire department until it was really roaring.

[Dick Thomas]

I guess I'm the oddball on this issue: My home is fully sprinklered, including the garage/shop. Since the house is 1.5 miles off the paved highway, in the mountains, I was required to put in sprinklers as a condition of getting a building permit!! Its a wet pipe system with a 300 gallon dedicated supply tank.

[Steve Griffin]

I guess I'm the oddball on this issue: My home is fully sprinklered, including the garage/shop. Since the house is 1.5 miles off the paved highway, in the mountains, I was required to put in sprinklers as a condition of getting a building permit!! Its a wet pipe system with a 300 gallon dedicated supply tank.

SWEET! That's what I wish had.

But you need a few small extinquishers more than anyone else-- if you get a tiny fire and don't have something to put it down, you're going to have fire damage AND water damage.

-Steve

[Eric Wheeler]

http://themindofmelivinglife.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/michelob-light1.jpg

Closest thing I have to put out a fire...

[David Hostetler]

I got the Kidde Dry Chemical model that the local FD recommended during the woodworking show last year. I had it on the wall behind the band saw, but I am a bit nervous about access. I am moving it to the man door to the house underneath the first aid kit.

[Neil Brooks]

I've got the Kidde A-B-C model, too.

My shop's in the basement. There's shear wall jutting out about 6' in front of where the entrance TO the basement is. Mine's mounted ON the end OF that wall, so you see it in front of your face, when you ENTER the basement.

And it came WITH a BIG, easy-to-see/hard-to-miss sign, so ... the SIGN is mounted there, too.

[Jerry Bruette]

I work for a company that makes extinguishers of all sizes and shapes and the chemical that's in them. Every employee goes through mandatory extinguisher training yearly. The training is with a 30# ABC simulator and you'd be shocked how many people have trouble putting out the simulator. A 5# extinguisher is only good for a fire about the size of a waste basket. Any bigger than that and you better head for the door and call 911 after you are out of the building.

I also agree with Charles you will be cleaning dry chem out of places you can't imagine after discharging the unit in your shop. As an example can you imagine 20# of flour being sprayed out of a nozzle by 190 to 195 p.s.i. and the mess it would make?

On a more important note to all you folks who do have what's called a stored pressure unit ( the above mentioned Kidde units) how often have you checked the gauge to make sure the presure is still in the unit? They can and do leak and won't be a bit of good to anyone if the chemical inside can't be discharged because of low pressure or a plugged nozzle.

Jerry

[Frank Drew]

I agree with Steve on extinguisher placement -- by the exit door(s). If you've got such a serious fire that you think you'll have to "fight your way out" from somewhere all the way in the back of the shop, then it's way too big for a hand held extinguisher and what in the world were you doing during the time it took to get that big? :eek:

I've put out car engine fires with fire extinguishers, but that was outdoors and I had an exit strategy (RUN!)

(I'm a Virginia certified firefighter, not that I'm young enough to do it at this time in my life.)

[John Coloccia]

So if you had an extinguisher handy, and fire happened to be between you and the door, you would walk through the fire as opposed to unleashing with the extinguisher as you went through? Somehow, clearing as much as you can as you exit is worse than exiting?

The sweeping generality is similar to the generality of "if you have arm pain, call 911 because you could be having a heart attack". If I called 911 every time my arm was sore from something I'd have an ambulance at my shop every day or two. Obviously, if there's an inferno in the shop a good plan is to run like hell, but if there's a pile of shaving on the floor that just caught fire, there's no way I'm going to run through them and risk catching my pants on fire when I can hit them with an extinguisher and minimize the damage.

[Jeff Duncan]

I have a 2k sq. ft. and I have 4 ABC units placed in strategic locations. I forget the size but they're bigger units bout' 2' tall, maybe 6-8" in diameter. For the average wood shop I think these are the best. Do you really have time to stop and think about what type of fire it is and what type of fire extinguisher needed to put it out? Pressurized water ain't gonna help when it's an electrical or chemical fire! I have wood and wood dust, multiple gallons of finishes many of which are flammable, and of course a whole lot of electrical connections and motors. Last thing I want is to do is stop and think about what type of extinguisher I need for what type of fire. And the last thing I'm worried about afterward is cleanup or chemicals in the air if I have a fire:confused:

Priorities gentlemen....small fire, put it out with the closest extinguisher handy if possible and call the fire department if still necessary. Bigger fire, get the hell out and worry about everything else later.

good luck,
JeffD

[lowell holmes]

A lot of talk about the extinguishers, but nothing has been said about the proper use of one. If you've never been instructed, check the link below. Your life could depend on it.


http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/using.html

[Neil Brooks]

Thanks for posts #28 and #29. Good perspective and info.

Way Back When, I served for 2yrs as a volunteer firefighter. Pretty good training. I bought a _relatively small_ fire extinguisher for MY shop (and one for my kitchen) specifically because ... my philosophy mirrors Jeff Duncan's: I know where the line is -- for ME -- between staying to fight and turning to run :)

Which raises an interesting, but slightly OT, question: has anybody ever _specifically inquired_ whether their _home, hobbyist_ wood shop should get specific additional coverage, on one's homeowners' insurance, or ... has anybody been required TO purchase additional coverage for such a shop ??

I know many things need to be "scheduled," so .....

Buying a new house, very soon. I guess I'll soon find out, and report back :)

[Frank Drew]

So if you had an extinguisher handy, and fire happened to be between you and the door, you would walk through the fire as opposed to unleashing with the extinguisher as you went through? Somehow, clearing as much as you can as you exit is worse than exiting?



John,

The idea isn't that you shouldn't use a fire extinguisher when appropriate, it's that ideally you don't want to fight a fire while it's between you and an exit, so going to the exit to get the extinguisher means you'll at least start out in the safest position to fight the fire.

Also, don't forget that smoke and the attendant risk of asphyxiation is the leading killer in fires, not thermal injury (burning to death), so the further in your shop you are from clean air, the greater the risk of being overcome by smoke inhalation, or becoming disoriented by smoke so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face (absolutely no exaggeration there).

[Chris Kennedy]

My dad was trained to fight fires in an oil refinery and fuels lab where he worked, in case the need arose in an emergency. What he was taught and passed on to me about using fire extinguishers was simple -- you use your extinguisher as long as you can safely _walk_ away from the fire. Otherwise, you do what is necessary to get out of there and let the firefighters take care of it.

I have ABC dry chemical fire extinguishers around my house (kitchen and bathrooms), and another in my shop. I have used one when my wife's cooking cognac got a little out of hand and then the grease filter in the hood caught fire. It was impressive the amount of smoke it generated -- the neighbors came to investigate and the fire had burned for about two or three minutes, max.

Cheers,

Chris

[Josiah Bartlett]

Thanks for posts #28 and #29. Good perspective and info.

Way Back When, I served for 2yrs as a volunteer firefighter. Pretty good training. I bought a _relatively small_ fire extinguisher for MY shop (and one for my kitchen) specifically because ... my philosophy mirrors Jeff Duncan's: I know where the line is -- for ME -- between staying to fight and turning to run :)

Which raises an interesting, but slightly OT, question: has anybody ever _specifically inquired_ whether their _home, hobbyist_ wood shop should get specific additional coverage, on one's homeowners' insurance, or ... has anybody been required TO purchase additional coverage for such a shop ??

I know many things need to be "scheduled," so .....

Buying a new house, very soon. I guess I'll soon find out, and report back :)

I have a small detached garage/shop- I asked my insurance company about it, and they helped me work out the rebuild cost of the structure and said as long as I wasn't using it to do commercial work I was covered just fine under my policy. They did suggest that I document all my tools by taking a slow video pan of the shop and writing down all the serial numbers, and saving what receipts I have. This was more for theft coverage, but they said claims are far more simple with good documentation. That reminds me, I need to take another video.