OB Approved Overland Safety: Fire Extinguishers

[danwyandt]

I have an ABC and a marine extinguisher (good for electrical fires) but am at a loss for where to put them. The only occasion on which I might ever need one (besides helping others, of course) is in the event of a rollover, in which case it would fall out of place. The mounts that came with them are not designed to take the rough stuff that a 4x4 goes through in a day.

My truck is a 2-door and the front seat moves to allow rear passengers in and out, so mounting to the floor in front of the passenger seat is not an option. Otherwise, that would be my preferred location.

Mounting outside is also not an option; it would strike objects on the trail, and debris would clog up the nozzle.

Mounted mine here on Driverside rear window plastics. Not sure how much is there on the 2-door. I threaded a 3/8" steel plate and placed underneath (access from the jack storage) much larger than the base so as to not break the plastics.

-Dan

 

[DintDobbs]

@danwyandt Not a bad setup. I'd prefer a location that can be accessed from the driver's seat, if possible, but since I have two extinguishers, there's a good spot for one of them!

If I designed a truck, I'd just put optional mounts and clips and rails and tie points all over the place and let people figure out what to do with 'em... ha.

 

[WTSMatt]

I’ve have 1 mounted in bed of truck and 1 mounted below/in front of passenger seat in case I can’t get to the bed due to fire. Also a good acronym is…PASS
P-pull pin
A-aim
S-squeeze trigger
S-sweep the fire area with the discharge

 

[madcratebuilder]

The Element can save your rig if you have a engine fire and can't get the hood open. Just start the Element and slide it under the engine.

 

[Kent R]

Has anyone used an Element extinguisher on a fire, and if so could you give a quick review.

Thanks in advance

 

[Downs]

I'm carrying two Element 50 extinguishers. One mounted in the cab on a Desert Does it molle panel on the driver's seat. The other one is under the driver's seat for now. Planning to mount it in the truck cap when I get that far with the build.View attachment 247326

Beware of only carrying gas generator type fire extinguishers. I would also keep a dry chem on hand has well. In something like a Class A or a class C electrical fire, once the gas dissipates, you'll probably get reignition. Dry chem has the advantage of smothering fires and in a Class C fire can buy you time to disconnect the electrical power, effectively turning it into a Class A fire which is much easier to deal with.

When I was an aviation photographer I spent most of my time on various flight lines both military and civilian around the country in my work truck. I had a 20# CO2, 2 5# Halons and a 10# ABC mounted in the bed and easily reached if needed. I also had a 5# Halon mounted on the floor in front of my seat and a 5# ABC on the other side. I realize this seems like over kill Sometimes I was the only one within 5 minutes of responding, if something expensive is on fire there is no such thing as too much.

I have 3 5# extinguishers in my Willys. I have a 5# Halon (1211) and 2 5# ABC (3A, 40BC) mounted in steel brackets with rubber straps. I used to have a 5# Purple K but kept getting it and the 5# ABC confused so I went with 2 ABC's.

Yup, I know sounds like a lot of overkill. After the fire is out I have never once heard anyone complain about too many extinguishers or having one that didn't get used. Once things get to burning too much is just about right, especially if it's my stuff.

Here's a pic of the brackets I use, easy to use and secure.

View attachment 129892

We use those same brackets in our Fire apparatus to carry extinguishers.

 

[LostInThought]

Has anyone used an Element extinguisher on a fire, and if so could you give a quick review.

Thanks in advance

They do work well. For tests/reviews, I'd direct folks to Youtube where they've been tested by amateurs and professionals in a variety of conditions:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=element+50+fire+extinguisher

Roll Happy!

 

[Kent R]

They do work well. For tests/reviews, I'd direct folks to Youtube where they've been tested by amateurs and professionals in a variety of conditions:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=element+50+fire+extinguisher

Roll Happy!

Have you personal used one? I am looking for a member who has.

 

[Bad Sport]

Have you personal used one? I am looking for a member who has.

I have one in my JKU (plus and ABC bottle) and we have 2 in our race car. I'll check with some of my friends in the race community for someone that has actually used one in an actual fire.

 

[Kent R]

I have one in my JKU (plus and ABC bottle) and we have 2 in our race car. I'll check with some of my friends in the race community for someone that has actually used one in an actual fire.

Thanks, I really want to hear from someone that could compare it to a bottle extinguisher.

 

[Sparksalot]

Installed an Element in Thethirdtwin today.

 

[OTH Overland]

We keep 2 dry chems in each rig, 1 in back and 1 behind the driver. In addition we have added an Element centrally located between driver and passenger (along with a bright orange rescue knife with seatbelt cutter and window breaker) that either one of us can reach after an accident. Added a second clip for the Element to make it more secure (only a couple of bucks). Like that the element will not destroy all my electronics in the cab, and was impressed by the amount of discharge time out of such a small device. Have had a ton of experience with all types of extinguishers while in the fire department, but never with what appears to be the inverse of a road flare.. Big chunk of change to light one off for practice purposes, but could be good experience to have before needing one..

 

[Marty_d3f81b]

My husband always insisted we had a halon fire extinguisher in our vintage cars. 1955 DeSoto and all VWs.

 

[El-Dracho]

My husband always insisted we had a halon fire extinguisher in our vintage cars. 1955 DeSoto and all VWs.

In the EU, halon fire extinguishers have long been banned (CFC), with the exception of applications in the military, aviation and aerospace industries.

Just curious. Are halon fire extinguishers still allowed in the USA in the car and other private applications?

 

[Bad Sport]

Thanks, I really want to hear from someone that could compare it to a bottle extinguisher.

So far no one has had to use the Element.
Maybe when the race season picks up but fires in these vehicles are rare.
I'll let you know if I hear anything.

 

[Kent R]

In the EU, halon fire extinguishers have long been banned (CFC), with the exception of applications in the military, aviation and aerospace industries.

Just curious. Are halon fire extinguishers still allowed in the USA in the car and other private applications?

Yes we can get them, a good alternative for BC is Purple K

 

[Jim SoG]

I snoozed on getting 2 for me and now they went up $10... I know there was an old saying about snoozing.......LOL

Jim

 

[Kent R]

I have been looking for a hands on review of the Element type extinguisher for awhile now and found this interesting YouTube video.
Certainly not a scientific evaluation but a good look at the different types of extinguishers out there.

 

[ZombieCat]

@Kent R, excellent video! Thanks for posting this one, very timely for me. I already have a halon B/C in the trailer, looks like I’m adding another in the truck to pair with the A/B/C.

 

[El-Dracho]

Thanks for sharing the video. This is very interesting and surprising. I had always considered putting a modern element extinguisher like this in my car in addition to the 2 kg/ 4.4 pound fire extinguisher. But after the result it will be more likely a second small conventional extinguisher.

@Kent R I am not an expert in this field, but could it be that in this test the gas from the element extinguisher did not get close enough to the base of the fire? Could that be the reason for this result? If that is the problem, I wonder how it could get closer to the base of the fire, since in this test he was already quite close to the flames and that with protective clothing.