Magnus Porsche fire drill, in car vid.
07-06-2012, 01:30 PM
#31
Rennlist Member
I'd be interested in the sequence of events you went thru- e.g. pull off track, activate fire suppression, hit kill switch, harness release, coolshirt release, bail out etc.
Also I see on SPEED some Rolex and other pro cars have trick looking billet alu release for the window net- anybody know anything about those?
Also I see on SPEED some Rolex and other pro cars have trick looking billet alu release for the window net- anybody know anything about those?
07-06-2012, 04:02 PM
#32
Burning Brakes
Think I am going to try to get one of the smoke bombs the police use for training & set it off with my kid in the car to see how quickly she can exit with gear on. I'm too old and useless to worry about...
07-06-2012, 04:59 PM
#33
Three Wheelin'
The trick release used by most of the GT cars is made by the company that Charles Espenlaub is associated with, Safecraft. They also have a nice extinguisher system, I use it.
07-07-2012, 06:32 AM
#36
Perfect Angel
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I'd be interested in the sequence of events you went thru- e.g. pull off track, activate fire suppression, hit kill switch, harness release, coolshirt release, bail out etc.
Also I see on SPEED some Rolex and other pro cars have trick looking billet alu release for the window net- anybody know anything about those?
Also I see on SPEED some Rolex and other pro cars have trick looking billet alu release for the window net- anybody know anything about those?
07-07-2012, 10:34 AM
#37
The fact remains, if none of the nozzles are pointed in the direction of your particular fire (as was the case with Magnus) your car is" toast ".
I might be wrong, but I think a simple $100 (1.5lb) hand held halon extinuisher could have prevented the vast majority of the fire damage in this case.
Go ahead guys " rip me a new one", but only if you can tell me why I might be wrong.
Tom B.
07-07-2012, 12:39 PM
#39
Rennlist Member
Do you want "nice" or do you want effective ?
The fact remains, if none of the nozzles are pointed in the direction of your particular fire (as was the case with Magnus) your car is" toast ".
I might be wrong, but I think a simple $100 (1.5lb) hand held halon extinuisher could have prevented the vast majority of the fire damage in this case.
Go ahead guys " rip me a new one", but only if you can tell me why I might be wrong.
Tom B.
The fact remains, if none of the nozzles are pointed in the direction of your particular fire (as was the case with Magnus) your car is" toast ".
I might be wrong, but I think a simple $100 (1.5lb) hand held halon extinuisher could have prevented the vast majority of the fire damage in this case.
Go ahead guys " rip me a new one", but only if you can tell me why I might be wrong.
Tom B.
Maybe having one in the front trunk once you get free of the car- of course if the source of the fire is there then its toast as well.
07-07-2012, 02:54 PM
#40
Drifting
I think you could see had there been an handheld nearby -- that even after he had exited the car -- he probably would have been able to reach back in and grabbed the FE and then attempted to address the issue before completely out of hand.
Note: What we couldn't tell is how bad the smoke was that could not be seen (he mentioned that
was what got him to stop -- his in ability to breathe)
Of course everything is a hole lot easier on this side of the keyboard :-)
I've always been told the FE in your car is to help others!
M
Note: What we couldn't tell is how bad the smoke was that could not be seen (he mentioned that
was what got him to stop -- his in ability to breathe)
Of course everything is a hole lot easier on this side of the keyboard :-)
I've always been told the FE in your car is to help others!
M
07-08-2012, 02:19 PM
#41
Mr. Excitement
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Glad to see the the driver got out and is OK and thanks for the report.
If you watch the video carefully you can see an anemic little bit of foam dribbling around the drivers foot well. I can only hope that there was something wrong with the AFFF system as if it was working right it is crap and woefully inadequate for the job of protecting a driver long enough for help to arrive. I watched a Halon system go off in a burning car. In a mater of a second or two at the most after activation and instant release into the drivers, engine and fuel cell compartments it shut the oil and fuel fed fire down. Unlike foam Halon gets places were it is not spraying directly. It would have gone under the dash and shut this fire dead off. Halon does not need to be in high concentrations as some other gas based fire suppression systems do. It stops combustion chemically, not by Oxygen denial. There can be plenty of fuel and Oxygen present but if there is a small % of Halon in the mix there is NO FIRE and no un-sprayed areas billowing wire fire smoke into a drivers lungs as in this example. People say they are worried about breathing halon but they should be more worried about the smoke. You can inhale a blend of halon and air. The only concern is if the Oxygen levels drop too low for too long. This would be very hard to do in a tin top car with a window net and for contact times well past the norm for getting out of a car. Halon is not slippery and does not obscure your vision with foam on your visor ether.
It would be good to know why the fire system did not work well in this case as it sucked.
If you watch the video carefully you can see an anemic little bit of foam dribbling around the drivers foot well. I can only hope that there was something wrong with the AFFF system as if it was working right it is crap and woefully inadequate for the job of protecting a driver long enough for help to arrive. I watched a Halon system go off in a burning car. In a mater of a second or two at the most after activation and instant release into the drivers, engine and fuel cell compartments it shut the oil and fuel fed fire down. Unlike foam Halon gets places were it is not spraying directly. It would have gone under the dash and shut this fire dead off. Halon does not need to be in high concentrations as some other gas based fire suppression systems do. It stops combustion chemically, not by Oxygen denial. There can be plenty of fuel and Oxygen present but if there is a small % of Halon in the mix there is NO FIRE and no un-sprayed areas billowing wire fire smoke into a drivers lungs as in this example. People say they are worried about breathing halon but they should be more worried about the smoke. You can inhale a blend of halon and air. The only concern is if the Oxygen levels drop too low for too long. This would be very hard to do in a tin top car with a window net and for contact times well past the norm for getting out of a car. Halon is not slippery and does not obscure your vision with foam on your visor ether.
It would be good to know why the fire system did not work well in this case as it sucked.
07-08-2012, 03:49 PM
#42
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Do you want "nice" or do you want effective ?
The fact remains, if none of the nozzles are pointed in the direction of your particular fire (as was the case with Magnus) your car is" toast ".
I might be wrong, but I think a simple $100 (1.5lb) hand held halon extinuisher could have prevented the vast majority of the fire damage in this case.
Go ahead guys " rip me a new one", but only if you can tell me why I might be wrong.
Tom B.
The fact remains, if none of the nozzles are pointed in the direction of your particular fire (as was the case with Magnus) your car is" toast ".
I might be wrong, but I think a simple $100 (1.5lb) hand held halon extinuisher could have prevented the vast majority of the fire damage in this case.
Go ahead guys " rip me a new one", but only if you can tell me why I might be wrong.
Tom B.
Not sure why you thought someone was trying to, as you said, " rip me a new one".
I have never seen any team use a hand held in addition to the required system, that doesnt mean its not a good idea though.
from the GA rule book:
15-2 Fire Extinguishers – for GT, GS and ST (DP see the DP-GCS)
15-2.1 It is required that all cars have a built-in fire extinguishing system, minimum capacity 10lbs pounds (Halon 1211 or equivalent), with discharge nozzles at the cockpit, fuel cell and engine compartment. The actuator must be within the Driver's reach. Fire system must be mounted so the required gauge is visible at all times. All cars must identify all extinguisher and electrical cut off switches with appropriate “E” and “Spark” decals. All cars are required to have additional electrical and fire switches located outside of the car on the cowl or bodywork at the base of the Driver’s side “A” pillar.
Doesnt say you cant have one.
07-08-2012, 06:54 PM
#43
When i said its a "nice piece" i was refering to the QD system on the left side triangle net, which is actually extermely effective.
Not sure why you thought someone was trying to, as you said, " rip me a new one".
I have never seen any team use a hand held in addition to the required system, that doesnt mean its not a good idea though.
from the GA rule book:
15-2 Fire Extinguishers – for GT, GS and ST (DP see the DP-GCS)
15-2.1 It is required that all cars have a built-in fire extinguishing system, minimum capacity 10lbs pounds (Halon 1211 or equivalent), with discharge nozzles at the cockpit, fuel cell and engine compartment. The actuator must be within the Driver's reach. Fire system must be mounted so the required gauge is visible at all times. All cars must identify all extinguisher and electrical cut off switches with appropriate “E” and “Spark” decals. All cars are required to have additional electrical and fire switches located outside of the car on the cowl or bodywork at the base of the Driver’s side “A” pillar.
Doesnt say you cant have one.
Not sure why you thought someone was trying to, as you said, " rip me a new one".
I have never seen any team use a hand held in addition to the required system, that doesnt mean its not a good idea though.
from the GA rule book:
15-2 Fire Extinguishers – for GT, GS and ST (DP see the DP-GCS)
15-2.1 It is required that all cars have a built-in fire extinguishing system, minimum capacity 10lbs pounds (Halon 1211 or equivalent), with discharge nozzles at the cockpit, fuel cell and engine compartment. The actuator must be within the Driver's reach. Fire system must be mounted so the required gauge is visible at all times. All cars must identify all extinguisher and electrical cut off switches with appropriate “E” and “Spark” decals. All cars are required to have additional electrical and fire switches located outside of the car on the cowl or bodywork at the base of the Driver’s side “A” pillar.
Doesnt say you cant have one.
I was inviting folks to critique(rip me a new one) my comment regarding the usefullness of having a hand held FE as a back up.
No disrespect intended on any of the produtcs you might be offering.
The one problem with on boards as I see it is, you never know if they are going to work until you need them. Testing them beforehand would seem to be impractical,expensive and messy as hell.
About a year ago I helped save a neighbors home when their electrical box caught fire.He came running up to my house for help.I threw him the 5# I had in my garage and removed the one from my race car.We both ran down to his house and put the fire out. Thankgoodness.
Hand helds? I would never be without one nearby.
Tom B.
07-08-2012, 07:38 PM
#44
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No worries Tom, sometimes things get lost in translation in the magical world of the interwebs. Unless you have experienced it firsthand its hard to comprehend how fast fire can move/spread!!
07-08-2012, 10:32 PM
#45
Rennlist Member
If you watch the video carefully you can see an anemic little bit of foam dribbling around the drivers foot well. I can only hope that there was something wrong with the AFFF system as if it was working right it is crap and woefully inadequate for the job of protecting a driver long enough for help to arrive.