After seeing that one of my fire extinguishers' guage was on empty, I recently picked up from Costco a two-pack containing First Alert "Multi-Purpose" Fire Extinguishers. I've put one in my car but upon reflection am not sure it is sufficient for automobile use. The box does not mention automobile use and instead emphasizes home use. Couldn't find a link on the Costco site so here are some of the particulars from the box they came in:

UL Rated 1-A:10-B:C
US Coast Guard-approved

I believe it's the same as this:

First Alert Home Fire Extinguishers are 1-A:10-B:C rated fire extinguisher ideal for use in any household location. Multi-purpose household fire extinguisher fights wood, paper, fabric, flammable liquid and electrical fires. Durable metal head designed to meet demanding household requirements. If the unit is used it can be recharged by a certified professional. Includes mounting bracket to keep unit secure. 10-year limited warranty. Meets UL standards.


Here's a link and summary of an auto-specific extinguisher. Still not clear to me if the Costco extinguishers are sufficient for automobiles:
http://www.firstalert.com/fire-extinguishing/fire-extinguisher/fire-extinguishers/FESA5

This auto fire extinguisher is compact - store in any car or vehicle. 5-B:C rated compact car fire extinguishers are ideal for use in vehicles. Fights flammable liquid and electrical fires. Small enough to fit in the trunk. Includes heavy duty mounting bracket to keep unit secure. 10-year limited warranty. Meets UL standards



I'm presently reviewing the site at this link below to determine exactly what I need in the car and at home. Been a long while since I researched fire extinguishers:

http://www.ilpi.com/safety/extinguishers.html


Class A fires are ordinary materials like burning paper, lumber, cardboard, plastics etc.

Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, and common organic solvents used in the laboratory.

Class C fires involve energized electrical equipment, such as appliances, switches, panel boxes, power tools, hot plates and stirrers. Water can be a dangerous extinguishing medium for class C fires because of the risk of electrical shock unless a specialized water mist extinguisher is used.

Class D fires involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium as well as pyrophoric organometallic reagents such as alkyllithiums, Grignards and diethylzinc. These materials burn at high temperatures and will react violently with water, air, and/or other chemicals. Handle with care!!

Class K fires are kitchen fires. This class was added to the NFPA portable extinguishers Standard 10 in 1998. Kitchen extinguishers installed before June 30, 1998 are "grandfathered" into the standard.

Some fires may be a combination of these! Your fire extinguishers should have ABC ratings on them. These ratings are determined under ANSI/UL Standard 711 and look something like "3-A:40-B:C". Higher numbers mean more firefighting power. In this example, the extinguisher has a good firefighting capacity for Class A, B and C fires. NFPA has a brief description of UL 711 if you want to know more.


Are your all's fire extinguishers appropriate to your needs and sufficiently charged?

Do you have any home or car extinguishers to recommend?

They are good for a SMALL fire. Like many things, know your limits and those of your tools.

The 1-A rating is equal to the fire fighting ability of 1.25 gallons of water on a class A fire, if that helps you visualize things. About a small trashcan (6-gallon size) of paper on fire, or a MUCH SMALLER class B fire.

Practice is a good idea.

Your 1A10BC fire extinguisher sounds good for auto use to me - if you intend to knock down a small engine fire or suspress fire while removing occupants to safety. Here's another link to some good advice on purchasing fire extinguishers - http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products...extinguishers/.

Practice is essential. I make it a habit to buy new fire extinguishers approx. on the same schedule as new household smoke alarms (~5 years), and when I have a couple spares the wife, kids and I hold a short PASS party in the backyard. CERT also has regular training under FD supervision that got me started - before CERT I had never used a live fire extinguisher. Its darn simple, but you want to know how to aim the extinguisher, and what size fire you can expect to put out. Check with your nearby fire station and see if they can help you out - I think most fire stations have a supply of nearly exhausted fire extinguishers to teach with.

Whatever fire extinguisher you purchase for auto use, keep in mind its probably going to be a compromise between size and what type of fire it works best on - there may be better materials for engine fires, but they can be more expensive, and seldom if ever get used. A 1A10BC in your trunk on the other hand can help with alot of different fires, and is pretty cost effective, particularly a rechargeable one.

And remember to bolt it down using a factory attachment if its in the main compartment of your car - extinguishers make nasty projectiles in high speed accidents.

I recently priced a 30lb class D unit - Gasp, shudder - a bucket of sand is good enough for the low risk stuff I do - $800+ for copper based (salt based a LOT cheaper, but still HIGH)

Worth reading:
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/health/Health-Risks-Fire-Extinguishers.html

Great informative link. I think I'm going to go with the basic Kidde 1A:10BC but I have to figure out a strong way to mount it while keep it accessible. I'm thinking right in front of my driver's seat laid on the ground. The plus is that it is very accessible the negative is it will be exposed to salty boots and if it were to fail it would be right in front of me when it did.

My auto based units were around $200 each.

They are the units that won't destroy electronics. I got them mainly for my off-road vehicle, but when not in use plan to keep one in my other vehicle.

The FireFreeze "Cold Fire Extinguisher" is an interesting non-toxic product which claims superiority over standard ABC fire extinguishers:

http://www.firefreeze.com/

http://www.coldfireextinguisher.com/

There's been a lot of video and marketing hype related to the product since it appeared on the second season of Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen" tv show.

What kind of rating does the NFPA give FireFreeze products?

I looked at the Firefeeze site and rooted around a bit and was unable to find any reference to any NFPA rating. Which may or may not mean much. Could mean it simply hasn't been submitted for evaluation.

There was some mention of the compound used having some sort of certification for use as a firefighting agent when bulk mixed for a FD but didn't follow it through. It might just be EPA approved for forest use or some other certification that doesn't mean much in terms of a hand-held fire extinguisher.

The ad copy has a lot of language that implies testing, it is X times better than Y, but I was unable to find the specifics of how that comparison was made.

There are several similar products I've seen in the local stores and non of them had any NFPA rating I could find. They were all similar spray-can units. Without any testing it is hard to draw any conclusions other than they are compact and light and claim to be effective, that and they all sell for about $10 to $18.

I sometimes carry a trigger-spray bottle, like what you might see holding 409, when I use a torch near wood. I use a mix of plain water and a few drops of dish soap so it soaks into the wood instead of just rolling off. It it looks like I might catch the wood or insulation on fire, or drop sparks, I soak the area. Having a little water handy means I can put any fire out while it is little bigger than a candle flame. Catch it early enough and there's nothing to that whole firefighting game.

For about $13 I would expect those miniature extinguishers to be significantly better than my spray bottle.

I will tell you that dry-powder ABC fire extinguishers are not may favorites. They all spread their powder far and wide, use one in a house and you will find it on every horizontal surface in every room, doors closed or not, and the powder isn't easy to clean up after it sets for a time.

Worse, if the powder is mono-ammonium phosphate based it is corrosive to many metals as soon as moisture hits it.