My girlfriend and I were on our way to a restaurant this afternoon. We round a curve in my Jeep and see a car on the side of the road on fire. There's an older man trying to get the hood up as I pull off right in front of his car. My girlfriend is already getting 911 on the phone when I jump out with my fire extinguisher in hand.

I walk up to him right as he gets the hood open. I let fly with the extinguisher (military experience came in handy) and quickly kill the flames. The fire department rolls up a few minutes later. So, I had to run by Wal-mart a little while later and get a couple of new extinguishers for the Jeep.

One did the job today, but just barely. As of tomorrow, I will be carrying 2 in the vehicle. Fortunately, the roll cage means I have no problem figuring out where to put them.

My g/f and the car owner were a little surprised by my calm demeanor when I just walked up and put the fire out. I explained to them that everyone in the Navy gets a LOT of firefighting training.

And my g/f now has one for her car too. She'd never thought about needing one in her car like I did in my Jeep.

Congratulations on such a cool headed response. Thankfully there are people like you who take time to actually care for the well-being of others, while putting yourself at potential risk.
Now enjoy that feeling that you made a difference in someone else's life while asking for nothing in return. Job well done.

What type of extinguisher?

BC?
C02?
Halon?

Way to go.

A few fire departments will give you a coupon for a refill or new fire extinguisher. Most not. Might be worth asking about.

Go big on those extinguishers. Better to have much more than you need than even a little less.

Which reminds me, I need to replace mine-and get a 2nd one.

I saw a one use disposable fire extinguisher a while back. It is built like a large spray paint can. I know that bigger is better but would one of these be worth carring ?

Questions:

1. I would also like to know which kind and size of extinguisher you'd recommend. Its got to take the northern midwest winter temperatures. I wish my Chevy Tahoe had more storage locations for such gear. In the past I've carried a small plastic tub, but it did tend to fly around the back as I take those hard corners (tires screeching).

2. Do you think the vehicle was repairable after that fire? or totaled?

Last summer my son & I were driving way up in northern Wisconsin and we came across a pop-up camper that was completely engulfed in fire - way too late for anything but a full fire hose. Luckily they had already disconnected the tow vehicle from it. That fire was HOT and real smokey. Not a good way to spend a vacation!

Good job.

Very cool and yes give the data on the unit.

I would be interested in extinguisher type as well. First Alert came out with one they call Tundra that looks like a paint spray can. http://www.firstalert.com/tundra_fire_extinguishing_spray.php

I really wonder if they are as effective as they make them sound. It may spray longer, but what about the volume of output? Is this item a better idea for compact cars?

Mine is a Kidde 2 pound auto model, dry chemical, type BC. I now have 2 of them ($12 each). This one:

http://www.kidde.com/utcfs/ws-384/Assets/466310%20-%20Auto%20Fire%20Extingui.pdf

A lot of my friends are firefighters, and I have firefighting experience from the military. The main thing to know in a vehicle fire is to get all the people out, leave everything else. Nothing in your car is worth your life.

Also, if you don't have an extinguisher, leave the hood down if the fire is under the hood. Opening the hood will only make the fire worse.

And make sure if you do have an extinguisher, it's where you can get to it quickly when you need it. And that you know how to use it. Familiarize yourself with your specific model, as there are lots of different types that operate differently.

I wouldn't carry anything less than a 2 pounder. The spray can small ones are not really going to work long enough for a vehicle fire.

And I'd say the car is salvageable, but the wiring harness and other plastic parts would cost a good bit. He said he was considering it totaled. The first thing he did was get the 2 puppies that were in a kennel carrier out of the car, that says a lot about the guy's priorities being in the right place to me.

I need to buy one of those Tundra ones and test it out. I will admit I'm currently a little skeptical about that style of extinguisher.

Nice Job, great that you could be there with the right tool and skills to help out!

There is a recent, detailed thread on this very topic here.

Craig.