Bird of the Week 06/26

[Rob Robinson]

I'm sure I'll get corrected or confirmed on this but I read somewhere that dry chem was the preferred extinguisher for a propane fire. I carry three fifteen pound foam, two dry chem and one Halon and even with that I don't feel it's enough.

2009/6/28 mrkane1952 <"mrkane@isp.com">

Guess Ron's luck was only half-bad.



I discovered just how useless those dry-chemical

extinguishers can be when I was trying to suppress

a vehicle fire on the highway outside this campground

last March. (A sedan, pulling out on the highway, was struck

from behind by a small pickup going ~70.) A garden-style

hose from the campground water faucet was also about as helpful

as a biological, self-generated stream would have been.

Fortunately that was just after a rain storm so the gasoline

from the ruptured tank burned like candle flames in the

ditches along the road, rather than spreading to the RVs

behind the wooden fencing along the roadway (including mine!)

Was only able to put the flames down long enough to verify no

one was still inside.



Since then I carry a shovel and an assortment of foam

extinguishers, including a 1.5-gallon unit from Mac

the fireguy: <http://www.macthefireguy.com>. Mac does

the rounds of the RV rallies giving hands-on training,

but there are many other sources.



The VFD arrived in about 25-30 minutes, and it still took

more than 5 minutes to put the car out with their foam.

The sedan driver and his dog had only bumps, etc.



Ron's misfortune might serve as a reminder to the rest to

check those old extinguishers tucked away around the coach,

or to upgrade them to newer technology units.



--M.R.Kane

1987 PT40

currently near Livingston, TX

--
Rob, Sue and Joey Robinson
94 WLWB