jnaut wrote:
tomsjeep wrote:
Given that Jeeps have an uncanny knack for having the wiring ignite and toast everything, a fire extinguisher ought to be a must-have.
I wouldn't advise popping the hood to try to tackle an engine fire with a little fire extinguisher bottle (backdraft). But to keep the dashboard melting down to a minimum, it would certainly be nice to have.
You won't stop a real engine fire with any extinguisher you carry in your vehicle. Extinguishers put out the cigarette ash smoldering on your back upholstery after you told your loser Uncle Teddy to quit smoking back there. Or if the campfire gets a little out of hand and lights up the tent that you put up 3" from the firepit.
But an engine fire? Fuhgetaboutit. A friend of mine had an in-home, full sized fire extinguisher (the ones that look like big scuba tanks) that wouldn't even dampen the flames on an engine fire his neighbor had. Called the fire department, it took a full pressure hose for 1/2 an hour to put out the fire-- vehicle was lost.
Four hours after the fire department left, the fire reignited itself. The heat of an engine fire is unbelievable, and your pony-bottle fire extinguisher just becomes a 'looks cool' accessory at that point.
Absolutely. The fire department (so I'm told by those that ride the red wagons) just takes a nozzle and goes in through one of the headlights, not bothering to try to open the hood (dangerous).
I think that was what I wrote in my post originally... although in re-reading it seems I wasn't clear - that you tackle a dashboard wiring fire, or somesuch, with the little bottle (mine's a 5#, bigger than most, but still not very big) but not even close to tackling an engine fire. So we agree. That's a good thing.
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