Fire Extinguisher

KW AV8R · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:00 am

I know this has been discussed before and some people had come up with some good ideas but has anyone had any other ideas? I have a 5lb ABC that I would like to mount someplace permanent. My wife's idea was just under one of the cargo area windows on the little ledge there but I have concerns about what would happen in the event of an accident. The fire extinguisher, IMO, is more for making sure people get out of the Jeep okay rather than putting out the fire. I don't have All J's cargo shelf nor do I plan on getting one so that's not an option and it won't fit between the seat and the door. Any ideas?

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:43 am

KW AV8R wrote:

My wife's idea was just under one of the cargo area windows on the little ledge there but I have concerns about what would happen in the event of an accident. The fire extinguisher, IMO, is more for making sure people get out of the Jeep okay rather than putting out the fire. I don't have All J's cargo shelf nor do I plan on getting one so that's not an option and it won't fit between the seat and the door. Any ideas?

I agree with your concern about flying-extinguisher in an accident. Mythbusters had an episode on that, and pretty much ANYTHING in the back of a car that can fly forward in an accident will kill you.

Is a fire extinguisher for making sure people get out of the jeep? Pretty sure it's only for extinguishing the fire. Having it back in the cargo area means that when the jeep catches on fire (and by time you realize it), you have to stop, get out, go around back, open the hatch, remove the fire extinguisher, get back out, go around to where the fire is, and put it out. By then everyone is DEFINITELY out of the jeep. I know I wouldn't stick around if the driver said "I need to stop for a sec, we have a fire, I'm gonna go grab the extinguisher out of the back". I would say that the primary function is to stop a fire from getting worse when it's small.

I would say keep it low - under a seat, next to a seat, on a seat back. Anything you mount high DOES get it out of the way, but it's a risk of becoming a flying projectile. I would say get a small one that fits next to a front seat and leave it there all the time, and save the big one just for wheeling trips, and you can just bungee cord it to something in the cargo area or keep it on the roof or something.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:14 pm

Do you know what is sad about my jeep and I, I would probably die if it caught fire b/c I would try my best to put it out before it destroyed my entire jeep. I am more worried about my jeep than I am about my self, its like my kid.

uvalax236 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:54 pm

I have mine sitting inbetween the driver seat bracket and the door jamb. Lots of people put there mag-lights there but I think a fire extinguisher works better there. Very convienent and easy to access but also low enough to not become a flying projectile in a crash. So if I get T-boned, I will have white stuff all over me!

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:05 pm

uvalax236 wrote:

I have mine sitting inbetween the driver seat bracket and the door jamb. Lots of people put there mag-lights there but I think a fire extinguisher works better there. Very convienent and easy to access but also low enough to not become a flying projectile in a crash. So if I get T-boned, I will have white stuff all over me!

Thats funny to think about. Everyone would wonder why the heck you coverd in dust when you get out.

KW AV8R · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:20 pm

The chances of someone recognizing there is a fire in their vehicle, stopping, grabbing the 2lb F.E., and putting out the fire are slim to nil. The practice I've adopted since flight school is to use an F.E. to help someone else or to at least get the other occupants out of the vehicle (ie: passenger is on fire and trapped in the vehicle, need to get the fire put out long enough to cut the seatbelts to release the passenger.) ANYWAYS.....

The point was to see if anyone knew of someplace to mount a 5 lb fire extinguisher that would not cause it to become a projectile during a crash. It will not fit between the door and the seat nor under the seat. I want to keep it low or mount it to something like a support pillar.

bighause · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 9:13 pm

I recently witnessed a guy in a parking lot jump out of his nicely restored VW bug and put out an nice size engine fire with a 2lb extinguisher. Turned out his wiring caught on fire and it wasn't life threatening, but that guy's pride and joy would have gone up in flames by the time the fire dept. got there. I bought a fire extinguisher that same hour. You never know when you might need it.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

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Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:21 pm

I was in a car accident late at night (3am) after a night of dancing. Very very tired. I fell asleep at the wheel going about 35mph. I am so thankful that the road was heavily tree lined, but I bounced off one tree and slammed into another. My `78 Monte Carlo caught fire while I was sitting there. I was totally dazed and confused. The seatbelt saved me from injury. I spent a minute trying to throw the car into Park. (That is kind of funny, after the fact). I then tried to get out of my drivers door but it was totally jammed. Flames were getting closer to the interiror. I scrambled out the passenger door and to the house in front of the wreck. I suffered ONLY a bite on my tongue.

By the time the fire department arrived (before the police and emergency teams), the flames were already in the back of the car.

IF I had not been wearing my seatbelt, I would have died. If I had been trapped, I would have died because of no fire extinguisher. IF I had a fire extinguisher in the front drivers area (under the seat perhaps) and had been trapped, I would probably have survived by keeping the flames out or at bay long enough until the fire dept had arrived.

Two lessons learned.

By the way, cops gave me breathalyzer and I was not even close. Just tired from a lot of dancing and a long drive back.

I was in the Navy at the time, dancing in a club in Norfolk and had to get back to Newport News Drydock area ( a long drive late at night). That was back in 1986.

Fire Extinguisher

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