fire extinguishers: how many and where?

one in the trailer, one in the front storage, one in the back storage, one inside the truck and one in the tool bed box. Never can have too many fire extinguishers!

drc5900 wrote:

korbe wrote:
Besides the one by the exit door, I have one near my side of the bed.

X2.

Plus one in the truck cab.

X3, including the one in the cab of the truck.

I gotta disagree with the expert that says the cheapos don't work. A truck engine fire happened right next to me last fall. That cheapo fire extinguisher put it all out including the dripping rubber and melted fuel line. I promptly bought four more to place strategically.

2dogtravellin wrote:
We'll be getting our new 24 ft Class C (Lazy Daze 24 TK) in a few months. I know it will come with one fire extinguisher, but I've been reading some sites that recommend more. How many do you suggest? Do you put one in the engine compartment as well as in the house? Do you have one in the generator compartment? How crazy should I get?

Check with your local fire company, they will be glad to assist you and possibly give you ideas of where and what type of extinguisher to buy and where to locate them, Also some Departments preform extinguisher training for businesses and the public.
Drive your C to the local station and let them have a look, firemen are very friendly and like the challenge!

Had a couple pull into the station I was working at, they had a large diesel pusher and a child with special needs, they had passed by an RV on fire and were concerned about there particular situation, my crew looked at there motor home and came up with some simple solutions and formulated an evacuation plan, we also helped them plan a few simple fire/ exiting drills. They were VERY nice people and we shared experiences and stories with them. They learned allot as did the crew on duty that day!! Not all RVs are the same and some of the emergency exits are a challenge for some.. Be prepared and Practice!!

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Rather than give my suggestions and/or opinions, go here -

Mac The Fire Guy

It's *my* 30 year professional opinion - he's very qualified,
good info, good products.

But I will reinforce - even *MORE Important* than the extinguishers:
Have smoke, CO, and propane detectors in your RV. Check them often.
Best "Life Insurance" you can have!.:C

Have an exit plan - and alternate exit plan.
Use it way sooner than ASAP.
*Then* "consider" your fire fighting - extinguishing - options.

~

CaptPicky wrote:
The first thing you need are working smoke alarms. How many of us have checked our smoke alarms? Do you know they need to be replaced every 10 years? Pushing that little button only tells you that the alarm has power and the horn works. It has nothing to do with testing the part that detects fire. Your only concern is making a path to get out. If you have more than a little fire your trailer is going to be toast anyway due to smoke damage. You need to put an extinguisher near the exits. You should always have an exit behind you and the fire in front of you. Putting them by an exit forces you to get to safety first. So near the door and one outside in a compartment. We can argue all day about types and sizes but the main thing to do is early warning and then to get out. Do your wife and kids know how to open the emergency windows?
I've been retired 4 months from the FD and still can't keep repeating the speech about smoke alarms..haha.

Awe come on,, we consider the detector our dinner bell, G/ma checks it once a week or so. :)

Carvin Marvin wrote:
At least one outside on the NON traffic side.

There ya go....

I would stop and help some else with putting out a car fire or ? but not inside of my coach.

The first thing you need are working smoke alarms. How many of us have checked our smoke alarms? Do you know they need to be replaced every 10 years? Pushing that little button only tells you that the alarm has power and the horn works. It has nothing to do with testing the part that detects fire. Your only concern is making a path to get out. If you have more than a little fire your trailer is going to be toast anyway due to smoke damage. You need to put an extinguisher near the exits. You should always have an exit behind you and the fire in front of you. Putting them by an exit forces you to get to safety first. So near the door and one outside in a compartment. We can argue all day about types and sizes but the main thing to do is early warning and then to get out. Do your wife and kids know how to open the emergency windows?
I've been retired 4 months from the FD and still can't keep repeating the speech about smoke alarms..haha.

One thing to look at with the extinguishers that come pre-installed in RVs is the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rating found on the rating plate.

All extinguishers are rated by UL according to the class and size of the fire they are designed for. Class A and B receive a numerical rating to determine the extinguishing potential for each type and size of extinguisher. Class C is basically a class A or B fire with electricity involved. The C designation indicates a non-conductive agent.

Class A and B extinguishers rated 1-A to 40-A. 1-A equals 1 1/4 gallons of water and is the benchmark even for non-water type extinguishers. 2-A has two times the extinguishing capability of a 1-A, 10-A ten times a 1-A etc. Water extinguishers, of sufficient size and in the hands of a trained person, can put out a surprisingly large amount of Class A combustibles. I did it several times as a firefighter. But I had a 5 gallon "can" and the proper protective equipment which allowed me to be in the smoke filled environment.

Class B extinguishers are rated 1-B to 640-B. 1-B equals one square foot surface area of a liquid pool fire and is the benchmark. A 60-B extinguisher should be able to extinguish 60 square feet of flammable liquid fire by a non-expert. That's not a large size pool.

Class C extinguishers have no numerical rating, the agents are tested only to determine non- conductivity. Beware! As long as the equipment remains energized, the potential for the fire reigniting is good. De-energize the equipment and then you simply have a Class A fire.

The disposable fire extinguisher that came with my RV was rated "BC", That simply means that the extinguisher was not rated for ordinary combustible (wood, paper)items. Several reasons for that, most common one is the type of extinguishing agent.



Halon, and the new "clean agents" designed to replace them extinguish fire by interrupting the burning process, not by removing oxygen. Traditionally, to stop a fire you need to remove one side of the triangle - the ignition, the fuel or the oxygen. Halon adds a fourth dimension to fire fighting - breaking the chain reaction. It stops the fuel, the ignition and the oxygen from dancing together by chemically reacting with them."

To much information? Perhaps. But all that being said, your best chance to defend yourself from the danger of fire is to GET OUT! Once away from the hazardous situation, you can make a judgment decision to attempt to fight the fire.

2dogtravellin wrote:
OK. Now I'm more paranoid than ever!

Thanks for all of the replies. I have a lot to think about.

Don't be paranoid, just ensure the smoke detectors are good to go and that the windows labeled Emergency Exit operate as advertised...have a plan, practice it, then execute it if necessary.

Cale

OK. Now I'm more paranoid than ever!

Thanks for all of the replies. I have a lot to think about.