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One of the best additions to any vehicle is a fire extinguisher. Everyone SHOULD have one in their trail rig at least; it is one of our mandatory items. In all honesty, having an extinguisher in every vehicle is a good idea. As a general rule, it is fairly difficult to be overly prepared. You never know when or where you might need to put out a fire. What kind of extinguisher should you have though? Well, I will help explain that to you, along with the proper way to use one. When selecting a fire extinguisher, there is more to it than simply choosing a size. Each fire extinguisher is designed for use on a certain type of fire. There are four classifications for fire extinguishers that designate what type it is designed for, although most people should only be concerned about the first three. The four classification types are: Class A) Ordinary Combustibles> paper goods and wood products Class B) Flammable Liquids Class C) Electrical Equipment Class D) Combustible Metals As I said before, all extinguishers are classified using these four letter designations. Some are marked with several designations, meaning that particular extinguisher may be used to properly extinguish several different types of fire. On the other hand, some extinguishers are listed with a single class designation, limiting it to being used on a specific type of fire. Most extinguishers will be marked with either A-B-C or B-C. The extinguisher labeled A-B-C will generally be more useful than one labeled either A or B-C. The reason for this is you usually will not know before hand what type fire you will have to deal with. Therefore, having an extinguisher that will defeat more types of fire will definitely be a better unit to carry. As stated before, an extinguisher is only to be used on fires for which is designated. If the extinguisher is used on other types of fires, not only will it probably be ineffective, but could possibly make the fire worse. With this pastime, we spend a good deal of time out on the trails and camping, the fire extinguisher that you choose should be rated for use against Class A fires. Wood and paper, common to the camping areas, may need ex (Continued on page 7) |