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?