Fire!! Fire:0, Mark:1, Extinguisher:??????

[Saltyhog]

Good on ya for doing what needed to be done!
Another tip I was taught is that the dry chemical powder can settle and clump in the bottom of the extinguisher. If this happens, the extinguisher can be anything from less effective to not effective. To prevent the clumping, rotate the extinguisher several times end over end until you hear the powder moving around inside. Do this at least once a year as preventative maintenance. The instructor said that the potential for clumping is rare, but still possible and preventable.

[sartorst]

Good info here and I would add don't stop until extinguisher is empty ,its a sick feeling when you let off and the fire comes back at full intensity again and you only have a small sputter left

[Khagan1227]

Just a few recommendations about chemical extinguishers.

1. They break up the chemical reaction between air molecules and fuel to stop the reaction, they don't cool the fire AND after they dissipate, the fire can restart. (just ask MarkJ) So if you think the fire is out, don't jump into the dink and head to the nearest watering hole and have a few celebratory rounds. Ideally you should stay and watch the fire with a NEW extinguisher or two for at least 30 minutes.

2. If you can, try to use short bursts to get the fire out, blasting out the entire can on the fire in one long shot might not leave you with anything to clear a path should you need to retreat in a hurry.

3. Another thing, if you pull the pin and only use one shot, the fire extinguisher MUST be replaced. You might have a few days to swap it out, but eventually it will depressurize and be effectively worthless. And if you are like me, you will forget about it after a day or so.

[Pauls]

Yes, completely right. Once you start keep spraying until the extinguisher is empty. Reflashes with dry chemical are common. The previous post about using short bursts is not correct.

[GregoryK]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I can't say this enough: PRACTICE with a real extinguisher once or twice at some point in your life. Let your kids, nieces, nephews and their friends practice too.

You need to have your extinguisher's recharged/checked annually anyways, so before sending them out for service is a good time to practice putting out a few fires.

[Astrid]

Practice makes perfect as the old saying goes.

[socaldmax]

The Navy uses Aqueous Film Forming Foam, AFFF. It's great all around, but really works well on gas/petroleum fires. I found some small ones that Amazon sells pretty cheap as a pair. I use them in offroad vehicles, you never know when a gas leak or gas/oil from overturning will cause a fire. The best things about them is they spray for quite a while for such a small size, they're cheap so you can have multiples, the foam cools and sticks, smothering the base better than powder or CO2 and they don't pack down in the bottom like powder does.

One small 16 oz can will put out a trash can fire in 1 sec., but will continue to spray for 17 sec. They sell for $15 for a 2 pack.

[MarkJ]

I saw a can of that afff stuff in the hardware and thought it was a toy...

Thanks for the heads up


Amazon.com: afff fire extinguisher

[jongleur]

Has anybody tried one of these?

A throwable fire extinguisher:

FIRE-117 throw-able fire extinguishers - YouTube

[Zanshin]

Hello (from Dominica) Mark!

Another shout I owe you (just in case you are close by if flames begin to lick out of Zanshin!) and congratulations on increasing your Karma balance!

Are you still outside of the Dutch Bridge in Sint Maarten and was this where the fire happened? (for those not familiar with St. Martin, this location would be only a couple of hundred yards from the immigration and police station and just across the street is the Dutch coast guard station with their patrol ships)

[Wonderinlost]

That's scary. Good job on being around and jumping to assist in putting it out.

It is a great idea. Buy a couple of fire extinguishers to sacrifice to see how they work. Start a fire somewhere and have at it. Toss some used oil on it throw some plastic in. Get it nice and hot and try short bursts a few seconds then empty one completely to get a feel. I remember in school we played around with the ABC dry chem and a A water extinguisher.

Another good idea is try your escape plan if ever a fire in parts of the boat. See if you can make it out with your eyes closed and holding your breath. Do it rather quickly. The smoke will build up fast and if you take a breath it may be your last.

Another great idea is to have many extinguishers as well as a smoke detector in your boat it could save your life if you were sleeping. It saved pops life.

Does anyone have smoke detector in their vessels?

[Red Sky]

One in both sleeping compartments and the galley/saloon area.

[dannc]

And make sure you can climb out of down below via the deck hatches. Some of the boats I have been looking at give me the impression that it would be hard to climb out the hatches. I did see one of the boats with a ladder attached to a bulkhead.

Later,
Dan

[DumnMad]

Good neighbouring Mark. NZ Cat 1 allows 1kg extinguishers, 5 for our sized boat spread throughout to be handy. If on board you tend to get to the source quicker. Not often you would get a save in your situation.

[colemj]

A halotron in the cockpit, a halotron in the saloon, a halotron in each stateroom, two AFFF in the galley and 5 dry chemicals dispersed about the boat. The idea is to be able to both fight into and away from a fire - grabbing extinguishers as I go/leave.

Dry chemical are so cheap that it is silly to have only the minimum required number of extinguishers. If you really want to protect the boat, halotron, CO2 or AFFF as first line of defense makes the most sense because you will be doing a lot of electronic and engine damage with the dry chemical - let alone the amount of cleanup that will be required.

We also have smoke alarms throughout - these are also stupid cheap and small - Costco sells 4-packs for $35.

But apparently, your best defense is to not anchor where SeaLife anchors.

Mark