This is going to be more of a life pro tip, but trying to reach the largest audience here.
Just had a frantic neighbour knocking at my door saying there is a fire in her oven.
I was over there in under 60 seconds with the fire extinguisher. There was a pot of oil on fire wedged between the element and the rack. No way to quickly and safely remove it, so I blasted it.
If I had tried to remove the pan, it’s likely it would have ended up spilling burning oil everywhere and making the situation much worse. Now they just have a house full of dust to clean.
Will replace our extinguisher today and am considering buying a few more to gift this Christmas.
Currently don’t have one (and should have), but I do know where the nearest fire extinguisher in my apartment’s corridor is.
I have lived in my apartment for two and a half years, and I’ve not seen someone come to test or check on the Fire Extinguishers once.
I personally wouldn’t trust them to work in a pinch, which is why I have my own. Hopefully your apartment managers are more diligent.
You can’t really test a fire extinguisher as it loses pressure when you discharge it.
As I pointed out in another comment, leaving them untouched and not turning them over to get the dust inside the can moving around and not stuck settled at the bottom is a real issue. To “test” them you basically ensure that the pressure is still where it needs to be and turn them over to get stuff unstuck from the bottom. That’s all I was referring to.
The fact that no one has touched them in two and a half years leads me to believe that all the dust is settled at the bottom of the extinguisher, and when an emergency arises, they won’t function properly.
I have one rated for grease fires in the kitchen and one rated for Magic Computer Smoke next to the electronics.
(I live in a small apartment, so two is probably already overkill).
Also, second pro-tip from a Firefighter friend: Regularly pick up your Fire Extinguisher and flip it upside down and tap the bottom like you’re trying to get ketchup out of a glass bottle. Often the “dust” inside the extinguisher can settle for too long and when you go to use it… nothing comes out because it is all compacted on the bottom of the Extinguisher. So occasionally making sure everything is loose and ready to go is key. He suggested to me every few months to do it.
Good tip!
Also, remember all the stuff that kills small fires: salt, baking soda, a wet rag, a sponge, a bigger pot blocking the oxygen. Many people freak out for a minute while the fire grows out of control.
Assess the situation, but a good plan now is better than a perfect plan in a minute. No don’t pour water on oil or electric fires. Use the baking soda, salt, or pot holder that’s right next to the stove.
For a fire in a pot or pan, having a well-fitting lid ready, and sliding it on, is most effective. Make it a habit as you get out the pan to get out a lid that completely covers it, and put it within reach.
Edit to add: I have a fire extinguisher on the kitchen wall as well, because sometimes the fire isn’t contained/containable. When I replaced my old unused one, I took it outside and practiced with it until it was empty, which was fun and educational.
Not flour, though! A friend once had food in a pot on the stove catch fire, and she knew about putting salt or baking soda on oily fires, but in haste, grabbed the flour, instead. On the bright side, the resulting explosion did put the fire out by consuming the oxygen, but it cracked the kitchen window.
Solid suggestions!
I don’t know why it gave me a memory of the server room at a building I worked at. If there was a fire, you had to leave the room immediately because the main fire suppression device was something that pumped all the oxygen out of the room, depriving the fire of the oxygen that allows it to burn.
Meaning, if you hung around in that room after the fire alarm went off, you’d have a good chance of getting stuck in there and dying of asphyxiation.
Good ol’ halon systems!
LOL, my buddy back in 2000 named his system “Nuclear Halon” for just that reason.
The Big Red Button behind the plexiglass flip door.
Is this why my old extinguisher at camp just spits white dust?!
Tested it the other day, because why not? It’s there because it’s old, and the place is literally a swamp, nothing going to burn down.
Lol, white dust is what a dry powder extinguisher is meant to spit out. Ths issue is that if the powder becomes too compacted, it won’t come out. Look up a video of a dry powder extinguisher in use to see if it’s working like it should.
However, they are more-or-less single use. If you’ve used it, even partially, you should really get it recharged or replaced.
I have one in my pantry. Can’t remember how long I’ve had it so guessing I should probably check it
I have a mini Aerosol can because there are non in the apartments in this complex.
There are some in the hallway thought.
What is this, an extinguisher for ants?!
I really hope it’s not using flammable propellant.
Neat. I’ve never seen these before!
though
Yup. Got one right next to the laboratory. One day, you could always forget to turn off a soldering iron!
Also – if you’re doing modern electronics development (or RC cars, or just have a lot of old phones), boy will you accumulate bad lithium cells. Fire-safe bags for them are really cheap!
I really need to get rid of my drone lipos but they cost me money so hopefully they don’t pop haha
Store them burried in a bucket of dry sand. That’s literally how they get stored for disposal because that’s the best place for them to be if they do pop.
Haha, I have a similar problem. I had (very carefully) salvaged the battery from a crashed drone. They were higher energy density than anything I could buy in my country at the time. I rebuilt battery packs from them.
Now years later they’re not so good and they have a semi-permanent home in a fireproof enclosure :( I should have thought about disposal first. Oh well, lesson learned.
Yes, in my kitchen
One in the car (it’s a hybrid full of ‘splody batteries). One in the office. One larger one in the kitchen along with a pan fire thing. A big extinguisher on the middle landing in the house.
All those ‘fireXO’ ones suitable for any fire type… not that I’ve tested that yet. Thankfully.
I have one in my car because it’s required by law (Belgium). I don’t have one in my house and I don’t know anyone who does.
I do have multiple smoke detectors and carbonmonoxide detectors. The smoke detectors are required by law but there are still people who don’t have them. Last night a family of 6 died in a fire and they apparently didn’t have smoke detectors.I’ve been working from home for a while and the amount of people on conference calls who have dying smoke detectors that beep every other minute is too damn high.
I have one in the kitchen, garage and utility (furnace) room. 2 were given to me by my insurance agent! The 3rd one I bought for my garage because, duh!
Nice! Hopefully you never use them, but just like an iguana it’s better to have them and not need them.
That reminds me to shake my iguana
Make sure you cork it first!
That’s sick! Love the chrome
Yes
Yep. I have a kitchen extinguisher, one in the central bathroom, and one in the garage.
We have a large one just off the kitchen in the garage hanging just outside the door, and a small one in the kitchen.
I bought the large one after a house all but burnt down up the street like 7-8 years ago.
In my apartment building there’s an extinguisher on every floor.
I have one right by the entry to my kitchen. I do occasionally check it’s pressure gauge. Mounted to the wall on a slide hook kinda thing.
