What size/type fire extinguisher?

[firefighterjake]

Oh yeah, almost forgot to add . . . take the time to learn where your primary air is coming into the stove . . . it may be worth the time to take some aluminum foil and keep it near the stove in case of a chimney fire or in case your stove looks like it is heading into over-fire territory . . . partially or fully blocking this hole will take a lot of the air (literally) out of the stove's proverbial sails in these two cases.

 

[firefighterjake]

Joe...unnecessary. Thank you My Oslo.

Didn't meant to rub you the wrong way, but it was a legitimate question. For instance, are you looking at putting out a chimney fire? I hear there a special "logs" you can put into the stove for that type of situation. But if you meant just as a general purpose extinguisher, then I would probably recommend a dry chemical ABC type. Or maybe you were concerned about oil lighting on fire due to the wood stove if your stove is near/in your kitchen, then that would want to be a K type extinguisher. As to the size, that depends on how large of a fire you are planning on putting out and how much weight you are comfortable handling in a hurry.

Rather than type all of that, I figured I would wait for you to get back with some specifics as to your needs and then I could tailor a response. Glad you got the info you needed.

A few corrections Joe . . . K class extinguishers are typically found in commercial kitchens where they are typically used on fryolator fires. While some K class type (depends on the make) could be used for creosote/wood/etc. not all can be used in such a manner . . . plus they are pretty expensive. For home kitchens, an ABC or BC (the key being the B -- flammable and combustible liquids and gases -- rating.)

 

[firefighterjake]

Excellent question. It will be my first season heating with a wood stove as well and I am getting ready to purchase some fire extinguishers. To add to your original question, how many fire extinguishers should one buy? I was thinking 2 for the living room where the stove is and possibly one for each of the occupied bedrooms. Or does it not make sense to purchase one for the bedrooms?

I don't know as there is any one "right" answer to this. However, consider the following in making your own decision.

A residential fire extinguisher is really only good for putting out rather small fires. Fires tend to grow rather fast once established so if you are going to stay and try to fight a fire (especially with a small residential extinguisher) you had best have it handy - no time to go running half way across the house. Excellent point . . . and very true.

Second point - place the extinguisher(s) where they are most likely to be needed. This would be where fires are likely to start and someone will be when the fire is noticed. For most people this would be the kitchen as for whatever reason, this seems to be where the greatest danger of home fires exist. I don't know what #2 is generically, but look around your own home and your behaviors and you should be able to figure it out somewhat.

I imagine that if you aren't a smoker, and you don't burn candles etc, then you may not have any ignition sources in your bedroom - then again, maybe you do. Ding. Ding. We have a winner . . . kitchens are #1. Bedrooms are #2. However, the idea of putting "one for each of the occupied bedrooms" may not be the most prudent as that may not in fact be where fires are most likely to start for you.

For us, I put one in the kitchen, in the hall at the top of the stairs/loft area in the 2nd floor (main throughfare/central location) and another at base of stairs at basement. Then when we added the woodstove I bought a large one to put near the stove (it landed between the kitchen and woodstove) so in case something near the stove caught - and the bonus being that it improved coverage for the kitchen too.

Now my question for the experts who may be reading this - I've heard that the dry chemical extinguishers can "pack down" inside and become useless over time even if the pressure gauge reads in the green. If this is true then how long does this take? Is there any way to know before a real emergency? The obvious followup to this is should I simply replace these after x years? I wouldn't say useless . . . but what can happen over time is the same thing that can happen with baking soda, sugar, etc. when left in one place without movement . . .it can pack down into chunks. The result can be that the nitrogen gas used to expel the powder will not be able to blow out all or as much of the extinguishment agent. You can easily prevent this from happening by turning your extinguisher over once a month or every other month and just giving the extinguisher a whack on the side . . . this should cause the powder to fall and loosen up. I'm not sure how long the packing takes . . . just turn the extinguisher over once in a while and give it a whack. There's really no way to tell until you use the extinguisher since the gauge just reads the pressure from the nitrogen gas. Most home fire extinguishers can be good for 10-15 years before they need replacing.

And for more fun filled fire facts . . .

Areas of the house most likely to be the point of origin for the fire: Kitchen (41%), bedroom (8%), confined to a chimney/flue (6%) -- incidentally this type of fire leads to less than 1% of all deaths, injuries and property damage) and living room (4%).

Almost 2/3 of fire deaths start in the bedroom, living room or kitchen.

Cooking is the leading cause of fire (and injuries) followed by heating equipment . . . I believe electrical is also up there as well . . .

December and January are the peak time of year for fires . . . time of day is between 5-8 pm. 11-7 is when half of all fatal fires occur.


Here's some light reading . . . actually I kind of find the report interesting.

http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/OS.Homes.pdf

 

[firefighterjake]

You can't have too many smoke alarms or extinguishers. Just to add to the locations mentioned, I keep a large extinguisher next to my bed along with a bat to knock out windows to get my kids and a flashlight to see.

Glad you started this topic.

Hopefully this is a bat you had on hand or bought . . . and you didn't buy it from a company that sold it or gave it to you as a package deal . . . I only say this since there is a nation-wide company that makes a living by offering free dinners or prizes . . . then scares folks with mis-information about fires and fire safety equipment . . . and then comes in and sells folks over-priced fire safety equipment while telling them that it's the state-of-the-art.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just a few quick comments. Make sure the fire dept. is called before you start fighting the fire. You want the cavalry coming if the sh.. hits the fan. Make sure everyone is outside, no house is worth a life. Todays fires double in size every minute; know when to fold your hand a get out. If your outside, stay out, people have been killed rushing back in to save.....There is definitely a learning curve to wood burning but common sense, vigilance and respect for the fire demon plus The Hearth Room will insure success. Be safe.
Ed

+1 . . . but I wouldn't call fire a demon . . . that would connote intelligence of some sort or even something to fear . . . you should respect fire, but not fear it.