Fitting a fire extinguisher

Seems like a good idea to fit one and they are cheap insurance. I have one in the kitchen plus a fire blanket and 2 in the garage at exit points - I can be a little accident prone!
I am looking at fitting it to the front passenger foot well just in front of the seat at its most forward travel.
Anybody else got better ideas?

Mine is on the small shelf behind the rear seat, passenger side.

Mine's in the tub, but could probably locate it better elsewhere.

The only time I've needed a fire extinguisher, I needed it in a big hurry and as luck would have it, only 10 minutes before I'd stopped to help someone out of their car that they'd fallen asleep at the wheel and rolled into a paddock at over 100km/h. Both occupants unscathed, the Sigma was on its roof. I was too lazy to put the extinguisher back in the kitchen area of my Kombi, so I sat it beside the seat in the front.

Thank God - a couple of minutes later, the engine caught fire.

I'll have to think about where I'll put it in the Nav!

Jason said:

Mine is on the small shelf behind the rear seat, passenger side.

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Nah thats where recovery gear goes and the first aid kit - Did I mention I'm accident prone?

I've got all that back there as well, ya don't need a 9kg extinguisher

Old.Tony said:

Thank God - a couple of minutes later, the engine caught fire.

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Was it really able to extinguish the magnesium cases? Or was it just oil?

It was a fuel fire. The copper(ish) pipe had come out of the side of the Solex carby and the fuel pump sprayed fuel all over the engine bay. Didn't take long for it to hit the ignition leads.

Still did some damage. All electrical wiring was shot. The fuel hoses were shot. The spark plug leads and fan belt were destroyed and the two plastic hoses that pumped air across the heat exchangers and into the cabin were also destroyed.

It took me 45 minutes to repair it all. Things were much simpler back in those days.

Got mine in the tub next to the tailights. TIP!!!! If you have a powdered extinguisher it pays to remove it every few months and give it a good shake,upend it as well as the powder compacts and canbecome useless.

The spot for a fire extinguisher should always be the most practical easy to get to spot where you think you're going to need it, but of course this changes depending on where the fire you are trying to put out is.

If you do a lot of solo driving putting an extinguisher anywhere but within easy reach of the driver isn't much good for a cabin fire. Having been in a cabin fire I can vouch for the fact that reaching too far can seriously hamper your ability to get the fire out let alone out before major damage. Having a passenger eases the issue a bit given that they could grab the extinguisher but how many of us travel 2 up at all times.

It's one of those things that there is no right answer too and chances are the time you do need it it could have been located better but the bottom line is if the driver can't reach it from his seat it's not worth having in a real emergency. The foot well on either side isn't a bad spot if you or your passengers are still comfortable when it's installed. Given the foot room in the Nav I reckon the foot well is a fairly good place for it.

Our old F250 had it down on the floor between the driver's seat and the door.

Pro-Nav2.7TDi said:

Our old F250 had it down on the floor between the driver's seat and the door.

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We used to have them mounted in the same spot in the FH100 trucks, after the fire, before the fire they were mounted in the corner behind the passenger and above the seat belt mount.

I have one mounted on the floor in front of the passengers front seat, the other is mounted in the tub left rear corner.

Realistically one fire extinguisher will not put out an engine fire, they don't last long enough, two or even three is better. There are over 15,000 car fires in Aus each year so it happens a lot. A lot of the time you will use your extinguisher on someone elses vehicle rather than your own.

And don't forget a fire blanket, very handy when so much cooking is done on an open fire when camping etc. and kids are often around.

Geez I hate being the exception to the rule all the time. I've only ever needed a fire extinguisher 3 times and they were all for vehicles I was driving.

Wiring fault under the dash of a land cruiser which caused a lot of smoke and a few flames. Under carpet fire in a camper modified Hiace and a ripping fire in a bread truck which I wouldn't have stopped even if I could have got to the extinguisher, but I did make toast for everyone.

Realistically one fire extinguisher will not put out an engine fire

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It all depends on how it's used and what it's used on. My kombi fire was in an enclosed engine bay (no "clear air" to the ground). When using a dry chemical extinguisher on a volatile fuel fire, a steady sweeping motion from one side to the other aiming at the base of the flames is extremely effective at dousing the flames.

I was lucky the engine casing hadn't caught fire - the temperature hadn't risen high enough to ignite it. I was also lucky that the fuel pump in a Volkswagen is incredibly pathetic at actually delivering fuel and all I really had was a few spritzes around the engine bay - no major pools of fuel, and nothing poured onto the roadway to give even more concern.

If it had been a 30,000psi CR that had let go, things would have been very different.

yeah all good examples of fires in older model vehicles, what worries me about newer vehicles is the different types of light alloys used in modern vehicle engines, diversity of oils/fluids, extra wiring, tighter engine bays, paint etc etc. a 1kg DCP extinguisher will last about 10 seconds.

I used to instruct fire fighting, including helicopter fires (aluminium/magnesium anyone?), I've put out a few. Love the fire ground as well

Geez I hate being the exception to the rule all the time.

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We're getting used to it.

Don't forget the fire blanket!

Jason said:

We're getting used to it.

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Well make better rules!!

With a family line of fire fighters and fire safety trainers I probably should take fire safety a little more seriously or at least take more notice when wiring things up but there is nothing wrong with the odd bbq as long as you learn from each one. And I've learnt that 4000 loaves of bread, open flame, and a figreglass truck body do not make an appetising meal or smell very nice.

I wasn't so much thinking about a vehicle fire - Comprehensive insurance covers that! New for old for the first 24 months and then market value thereafter.
I was more thinking about starting fires in grass / scrub from contact with the exhaust or similar. I would hate to be the one to start something catastrophic.

Aido said:

I wasn't so much thinking about a vehicle fire - Comprehensive insurance covers that! New for old for the first 24 months and then market value thereafter.
I was more thinking about starting fires in grass / scrub from contact with the exhaust or similar. I would hate to be the one to start something catastrophic.

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If you're out in a dry bush and your gear starts a fire chances are nothing you can mount in the cabin of you ute is going to put it out unless you are extremely quick.

A 5/10 litre garden spray bottle full of water is handy for that, if you're quick enough.