Fire extinguisher for daily steet car

I think most everyone here has an extinguisher in their everyday Fcar.

Halon is the way to go, these guys have been referred to here several times, and I believe offer a discount to Fchatters.

http://www.h3r.com/index.htm

 

I got mine from H3R as well...

Here is where I mounted mine on my 355 Spider...

Rich

You should always have one - I have one in my Daily Driver (non F-cars as well). Minimally you should put one in your F-car Trunk... I have used mine in my Daily drivers 2 times over the last several years - for other people - never my cars - but it never hurts to have one - for you or others...

Rich
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www.tradetutor.com/raceprep is at least a design for a bracket...

 

Agreed H3R Halon is best IMHO

 

I have an extinguisher in every car. As mentioned, you're as likely to need it for some other machine as for your own (provided you keep your fuel lines maintained). I've had to stand by with mine until the professionals arrived once or twice, when coming across a collision on the street. (Putting everything in a FWD lump makes the front of the car vulnerable. The rise of SUVs has upset the "standard bumper height" that most cars are tested against, in collision.)

I consider it a great failing of the automotive industry that extinguishers and mounts don't come with modern cars.

One of my own great failings is that I've never installed proper brackets in the pass compartment -- I carry the extinguishers in the trunk.

 

An extinguisher in every car...I bet you guys are easy prey for insurance salesman! LOL. Just what are you expecting to catch on fire?

 

I've passed quite a few car fires on the highway over the years. It's never a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher. I carry mine in the trunk (engine compartment storage area), for three reasons:

1. A fire in a 308 will require opening the trunk anyway because that's where the fire is going to be.
2. The fire extinguisher can be stored upright in that compartment, which is how they are supposed to be stored, even though they look much cooler mounted in front of the passenger seat on the floor.
3. I haven't gotten around to making a bracket for the passenger compartment.

Birdman

 

1. 20 year old fuel lines.

2. 2 year old SUVs ... after hitting anything (and/or rolling over).

3. 3x8s that get t-boned in one of the fuel tanks.

Trivia: The only production car to come standard with racing bladder type fuel tank liners was ...
... the Pinto, after the recall on the standard tank.

 

I have never come near a situation which required a fire extinguisher. I guess it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have one but I think they take up space and do not look aesthetically appealing IMO.

 

Try a billet marine fire extinguisher bracket:

http://www.trickmarine.net/productdetail.cfm?productid=4

 

I had a stranger's car on fire in front of my house that my shop extinguisher quickly put out and my 308 caught fire 6 weeks after I got it, luckily the vidoe store who parking lot I pulled into had an extinguisher so the car wasn't a total loss. Sooo, I now carry a fire extinguisher in the passenger compartment. The rear truck looks better, but on 308s at least I can tell you from experience that it won't do you any good because that is where the fire will be

 

Some automobile events require an extinguisher for participation.

 

I was caravaning with a friend from Huntsville to Atlanta for a Ferrari Club event when his 328 started smoking out the back. We got the back lid open and there were orange open flames from oil that had spilled on the exhaust. We took advantage of the extinguisher he carried in his car -- I had one in my 308QV also -- and put it out quickly before there was serious damage.

 

This morning one of my crew arived with a smoking/steaming FORD not an F car, thank god. He popped the hood and the steam came rolling out - trashed front water pump bearing and seal, but - a small fire just errupted at the back injector, so I hosed it out with the handy 5 pound dry chemical from my truck, (also have one in my 308 trunk, I too have not got around to making a suitable bracket.)

Five or six years ago, another of my empolyees was getting ready to leave the job site and had a repeat of the above eppisode, except his involved a lot more gas and i used up a 5 pound extinguisher putting out the fire 5 or 6 times, it was so hot it kept coming back to life. I finally sent him into the building for a 5 gallon bucket of water which finally put out the fire. Alas, it was a total - it only takes a few minutes to go from a 30-40K pride and joy to a total.

My very first fire was with my first wife to be, (prophetic, no doubt) while running down sunset boulevard in my first car - a cherry MGA. The front float bowl dropped off of the SU carb and the two fuel pumps cheerily disgourged lots of gas onto the exhaust maniford. She went into hysterics on the side of the road, while i hurridly popped the trunk, retrieved my 2 and 3/4 pound dry chemical extinguisher, carefully opened the hood and hosed out the fire - only a little singed wiring and a hood repaint and i was ok.

Two VERY important lessons learned from the above:

1) Get the fire out as quickly as possible - damage repair costs go up exponentially with time, - probably quicker.

2) Have a big extinguisher quickly at hand.

As a side note, Dry chemical is messy, I wouldn't consider carying anything less than a 5 pounder. If Halon is magic, you might get by with a smaller unit. your call.

Lessons learned from another's misfortune are both free and painless.

With singed eyebrows,
smokey

 

2.5 lb Halon in the front so I can fight my way to the 5lb ABC in the trunk.

 

You REALLY don't want to have a fire at high speed. Not only will the airflow serious feed the flames, it takes a surprisingly long time to stop from that speed, unbuckle, and get out of the car in order to fight the fire. During that time the fire can get past the point of no return.

That's why SCTA-BNI landspeed record cars are required to have 10 pounds of a halon equivilent for any vehicle capable of speeds over 150.

 

Every time I start to think about extinguisher brackets, my mind keeps wandering back to
"fire warning light and bell -- pull the bottle".
I keep looking for remote triggered Halon "engine nacelle" packs.

But there's "EPA in your way". (In what bureaucratic fantasy world is a burning car more environment-friendly than halon?)

 

I have always carried a fire extinguisher in each of my vehicles. Back in October of 2001, I was on a trip to Arizona, and a cousin was placing a suitcase in the trunk of my car, and accidentally "repositioned" the fire extinguisher, allowing the safety pin to drop out. A few spirited corners later I heard a loud woooosh from the trunk area and when I opened the trunk I found the entire interior and its contents covered with a fine white powder.

Armed with a roll of quarters I went to one of those self-serve car washes with the large vacuums. I pulled into a stall and opened the trunk. Upon seeing a car trunk full of white powder and a guy with a long beard the other patrons of said car wash scattered... fast. I expected the authorities to arrive any moment as I methodically unpacked the trunk and vacuumed up all the powder. Now, October, 2001 was not the time one wanted to be seen with large amounts of white powder.

I got as much of it up (I'm still finding crevaces with the powder in them), and headed home. Upon crossing the Hoover Dam, some National Guard troops inspected my car. I suppose the towel I was wearing on my head to keep my ears warm was somewhat of a tip off. The fan belts I used to keep it in place may have contributed to the situation as well. Well... that's a long story

The moral is to use a proper fixture to hold your fire extinguisher anywhere in your car and to inspect and properly affix those safety pins that prevent accidental discharge.

 

Insurance is fine if you are willing to settle for the average "book" value typically assigned to insurance related repairs; fender benders, fires or crashes - however, if the car really means something to you, or you maintain it or modify- personalize it, invest hundreds of hours of research, maintenance, updating and polishing it, you can count on a big loss - in your own time, your "extra" equity that the insurance doesn't want to hear about.

Hey, if this just another bone stock ford pick up - work truck no big, let the insurance handle it - but a prized F car?

Think aboput getting your appraised or agreed value policy updated to reflect what it's loss would mean to you - but if it just a car....

Me, I will always carry a good fire extinguisher, and close by.

pointedly,
chris

 

You're joking, right?

Or are you the type that doesn't think about buying toilet paper until you're sitting there looking at an empty roll?

 

My 308 is mostly for street and I can understand that I should (and soon will) carry a fire extinguisher... however.
I'm also hoping to attend a few of the FMoW Summit Point track events this year. I understand I will need a fire extinguisher in the 308.

Since the site meltdown the pictures form this thread don't show up anymore. Would anyone be willing to post some pictures of where you mount your extinguishers for track events? I am assuming that just having one in the trunk is not sufficient.. correct?

 

Right.
If the fire starts in the engine bay of a 308, how are you going to get to the extinguisher?

 

Correct. You can see multiple track-acceptable mounts (good for street also) in a 308 at www.tradetutor.com/raceprep

Mine is below, same design as at the website.
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