Fire Extinguisher-Anyone tried these?

[Walt Nicholson]

A friend showed me this link and said they would be great for
workshop.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/26863.do?code=EMRBA

Has anyone had any experience with these? Do you think they would work in a wood shop? It seems like a little peace of mind for when you are not there for not a whole lot of money. I could not find much anywhere else on the net that had anything similar. Does anyone know of anyone else that makes something like this? Thanks.

[Joe Chritz]

Having tried to put out a few fires with a hand held extinguisher I wonder how effective they would be on an established fire.

It isn't as easy as it looks to put out a fire once it is established and burning well.

I will ask a couple firemen friends I know to take a look and report their thoughts.

Joe

[Josiah Bartlett]

If your local fire department offers free fire extinguisher training, take it. Its a good way to get to know your local emergency personnel, and you can also ask them what size and type of extinguishers to place in your garage.

Fire extinguishers have to be aimed right at the base of the fire to do anything at all, and if there are hot spots already, they may flare right back up. I have a couple of 15# ABC extinguishers mounted on the wall and I also have a good hose reel and high flowing faucet outside next to the man door.

My main fire protection is that my shop is detached from my house, and the fire department is six blocks away. I'm more worried about the kitchen than my shop.

[Don Bullock]

That's a good question Walt. I've seen them in their catalog and have wondered how effective they are. I was thinking that perhaps if I ever enclosed a DC it would be a good idea to put one above it. First, I'd have to know more about them and how they work, etc.

[Lee Schierer]

I can't speak as to how effective they might be, but you sure don't want to be swinging any boards around in your shop and hit the sprinkler head!!!!

Cleaning up the dry chemical is a pretty siginificant mess.

[Neal Flatley]

I have several concerns with this product.

First, as previously stated, it would have to be very close to the source of the fire to be effective. Mounted on the ceiling, the dry powder will disperse, reducing its effectiveness before it hits the fire. Portable fire extinguishers rely on a concentrated solid stream to be effective.

Second, Dry powder, although rated for ABC type fires, is not as effective on class A fires ( ordinary combustables ) as it is on class B ( Flamable liquids) & C ( Electrical). If you look at a triple extinguisher rating, the "A" rating will always be lower than the "BC" rating. Most woodworking shop fires are class A. Water is the best extinguishing agent for class A. Water should not be used on a class B or C fire as it will make the situation much worse.
A repair garage full of solvents and fuels would more likely have a class B fire. A class "C" fire exists only if the involved material is electrically energized. Once the power is cut off, it becomes a class A or B

Most workshop fires are started because of an electrical fault, which ignites type A material ( wood). When the shop is unoccupied denergize as many of the circuits as you can. This will reduce this risk.

Learn how to use portable extinguishers and place them is very accessible locations, preferably at the exits. This way you will be already at the exit when you grab the extinguisher. If you change your mind, you can keep running!:)

Install a rate-of-rise heat detector in the workshop that can be heard by the rest of the house.

When fire is discovered, alert everyone else to evacuate, call 911 or have them call 911, and then make a descision if it is within your level of training and equipment to try to extinguishthe fire. We, the FD, can always be turned around, but, we don't like to play catch up with a fire. If you try to fight the fire first and not tell anyone, you can become overcome from smoke inhalation, your family doesn't know whats happening and were not responding. Not good:(

I have arrived on scenes of fully involved buildings only to be told " we tried to put this out for 10 minutes before we called you"

Fires spread very quickly. Smoke spreads even faster. Sucessfully fighting a fire with a portable extinguisher in a closed building requires the fire to be very small and put out very quickly.

Again, learn to use the extinguishers, but please know their and your limitations.

Stay safe

Neal - retired Fire Chief

[Joe Chritz]

Neil, I made it three sentences into your post before I knew you were on the job somewhere.

I won't bother getting the scoop from the guys I know.

Good post by the way.

The part about "we can be turned around" is valuable information for any emergency. Sometimes seconds actually do count. It is amazing how long 30 seconds can feel like.

Speaking of electricity if you want to see 5 seconds seem like a very long time volunteer for a Taser. Yikes!

[Neal Flatley]

Thanks Joe
I'll pass on the Taser, being hand-to-hand across a set of 240 volt power rails for a theater curtain seemed like a lifetime. It was really only about 10 seconds untill I got knocked off. Stupid mistake when I was a kid.

Neal

[Brian Morey]

I have to agree with Neal, Im a Lieutenant and I would much rather have to repond to ten calls that we get early than play catch up on one garage fire. I have never seen one of these units used but I dont think it looks all that promising for wood shops, Class A fuels tend to be rather spread out in most shops, sawdust allows for fire to spread REAL quick and im not sure that Dry chem sprayed from a static source like that would be very effective.

Get trained, act quick, if you attempt to put the fire out and it seems to be getting away from you it is surely time to call the pros. The best way to fight a fire is to fight it before it happens. Maintain equipment, clean up well after each job, always store flammables in a safe manner, etc etc. Most fire departments have a in house courtesy inspection program. If your local agency does call them and have them come out, they will be able to point out a lot of good things, and may even have some good training aids for extinguisher use. Stay safe out there!

[John Williamson]

I agree with the other firefighters here. Probably not the best investment.

[Walt Nicholson]

Thanks for everyone's input. I have handhelds on the walls at 4 locations including the exit door but was thinking of these for extra protection when I was not in the shop. I've read some stories about a spark from a screw or something hitting a DC impeller and then smoldering in the sawdust bag for hours before becoming a problem. Based on the much appreciated input it looks like these aren't the solution I was hoping for. :)

[Don Bullock]

Great posts. This is another example of the great expertise here on Sawmill Creek. Walt, we had the same idea. It looks like a water based sprinkler system would be the best thing to have for the shop, especially a smoldering spark in the sawdust bag.

[Michael Justice]

...

lnstal a rate-of-rise heat detector in the workshop that can be heard by the rest of the house.

...

Stay safe

Neal - retired Fire Chief

That counts as the best advice and one of the best posts I've read on SWC. Going to Google Rate-of-Rise Heat Detector now.