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I have a 10lb Halon extinguisher. I have mentally trained myself to jump out of the car, reach for it in the back foot well, pull the hood release, and - this becomes uncertain - see what happens as I spray under the car and in the narrow opening between the hood and the fenders. No plan to open hood further. Empty the extinguisher, being alert to flare ups. Keep my knees bent.
But what do I know? So I just perused some articles on the web. Not much help, except yeah - don’t raise the hood. Also beware the hood struts, which may explode.
The first rule is to have good insurance. Second rule is to have good hoses, etc.; be very nervous about your injector clips. Putting out the fire is optional, unless it’s in your attached garage and the cats are trapped inside.
I have a 10lb Halon extinguisher. I have mentally trained myself to jump out of the car, reach for it in the back foot well, pull the hood release, and - this becomes uncertain - see what happens as I spray under the car and in the narrow opening between the hood and the fenders. No plan to open hood further. Empty the extinguisher, being alert to flare ups. Keep my knees bent.
But what do I know? So I just perused some articles on the web. Not much help, except yeah - don’t raise the hood. Also beware the hood struts, which may explode.
The first rule is to have good insurance. Second rule is to have good hoses, etc.; be very nervous about your injector clips. Putting out the fire is optional, unless it’s in your attached garage and the cats are trapped inside.
With Halon, if the fire just started and the hood isn't hot yet, pop the hood. One squirt and the fire is out.
If you need 10 lbs of it, run....it might be radioactive.
This thread has me worried. I have a standard fire extinguisher behind my driver's seat. If I see a fire in my engine compartment, how do I use it? Prior plan was to open hood and spray. Now there seems to be some mysterious place where it is better to spray.
It would break my heart to watch my 928 burn up!
In the action plan given in my previous note, I forgot something important: turn the key (fuel pump) off.
You can find halon extinguishers on Ebay, in the US, anyway. I believe a fire safety company will go through a factory to replace everything, then sell the old stuff. It must be expensive to dispose of halon properly. Either there is no rule against reselling it, or the EPA looks away. Would Canadian border inspectors seize my extinguisher?
I thought part of the halon magic is that it's a heavy gas that sinks to the base of the fire - a vague, possibly false memory from long ago. That's why I thought cracking the hood open might be important. Maybe the draft of a small fire won't draw it upwards. Maybe you want to squirt it from above, or increase the upwards draft. Maybe it's better not to increase the draft of a big fire.
What we're talking about here, partly, is something that even firemen don't get practice for - putting out a fire within seconds of it starting in order to save our precious cars. Maybe race track fire marshals know what to do.
I have a friend who is very negative about electric cars (also turbocharging, but he's somehow OK with water cooling). One of his points is that lithium batteries often burst into flames - more often than conventional cars? More often than 928s? Do 928s burn more often than other cars the same age? Our special "deferred maintenance" issue?
I had an underhood fire caused by a cross threaded fuel pressure port cap. Upon startup I heard a sizable "Woomp" and saw white smoke puff from around the hood.
I did the following:
1. Shut off ignition.
2. Popped hood release.
3. Jumped from car and grabbed large garage fire extinguisher.
4. Shot a burst of extinguisher under car and then into the small opening at leading edge of hood.
5. From a low position, simultaneously shot into hood opening as I released the hood latch and opened hood.
6. Identified and bore down on source of flames with the extinguisher and extinguished it.
7. Shot a quick blast under car again to reduce chance of re-ignition.
8. Ran outside to fresh air.
9. **** pants! (just kidding).
The whole episode lasted less than 30 seconds. But those few seconds of intense action saved my car, garage and possibly home and loved ones...
The keys to this relatively successful fire extinguishment were:
1. Fast, intuitive action.
2. Two handy high capacity fire extinguishers.
3. Organized garage with enough room to get around car quickly to the extinguisher.
4. Keeping clearheaded as I timed the shots of the extinguisher with the hood opening sequence.
5. Staying in a low position to be under the bulk of the dangerous gasses, flames and fire extinguisher contents.
6. Clearing the area as soon as the fire was out and getting to fresh air.
7. Observing car in ready low position to be prepared for re-engagement.
All fires are different and circumstances dynamic. The key is being familiar with your work area, car and the location of your fire extinguisher.
Every second counts!
BTW - Hacker, Thanks for pointing this product out to us... It looks like the killer app for the glovebox or door compartment quick access fire extinguisher!
I currently have a 5lb Halotron bottle I picked up in the States( Damned Canadian rules) Problem I see is short available burst time and limited lifespan.
I just ordered 10 of these for wife's and kids cars, and mine too...
Hell, I can even keep one on my Bike!!!
I still do think these are interesting and may pick up 1 or 2 - always nice to have more options and these store so much easier than a regular extinguisher.
I watch Jay Leno's Garage on Youtube on a regular basis. A while ago he featured a testimonial for the Element fire extinguisher "stick". The pitch was compelling and I bought a 1/2 dozen of them to put into my various cars. Here is a picture of one in my 928 glove compartment. A perfect fit. As discussed in the Youtube feature, it is compact and yet has extinguisher properties that last a full minute. And there is no residue. I'm sold!
07-28-2018, 06:08 PM
