fire extinguisher requirement at AACA shows?

[Steve Moskowitz]

18 hours ago, Bills Auto Works said:

 

 

That is a shame John & Steve!

 

  I understand there have to be some standards, but as always there comes a time when the folks who make the standards get too high & mighty for their britches! Good enough for an aircraft that has much higher standards, but not ok for a car????

 

  I did double check one of mine & the only thing it had was an ISO certification, but no UL. I am very confident in them, will continue to use & recommend them. (Statement not aimed at anyone here & I appreciate being notified of it) I believe the size & versatility of it will cause more guys to have an extinguisher in their cruisers which is a good thing. I for one never carried one in anything other than the race car before this, as far as toys anyway!

 

God Bless

Bill

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nationwide-single-car-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

Bill, it may be a shame but nothing high and mighty about it. In John's case their club chose to listen to their insurance company and that is never a bad idea!  Their judging committee had to do what is right in protecting the club and ignoring their insurance company is a bad idea.

 

In our case it simply did not go to our insurance carrier it was passed upon for now based upon the KISS principle with our regulations.  We got wrapped up all around our axles before trying to make exceptions.  As I said, both companies have told us they are trying to work something out with UL.

 

Neither John or I said anything derogatory about either extinguisher.  I actually really like both although their is an element (no pun intended) of price on these units for some folks.  I plan on purchasing a couple of the FireXo for my personal use. 

[TTR]

On 4/15/2021 at 2:10 PM, HarryLime said:

I never understood why extinguishers are usually jammed under a front wheel at car shows . Can't it be mounted in the car somewhere safe ? 

 

On 4/15/2021 at 2:18 PM, TAKerry said:

My understanding is that 1. Its visible for the judges to see at a glance

and 2. IF it is needed, much easier for someone to grab it from there than to have to open a door, climb inside, figure out how to unhook etc. etc.........

I was wondering same long (decades) ago at some events/shows I attended or presented and was told one was expected to be placed behind left rear tire of every car on the field so that not only judges but any and all field personnel knew where to find one easily in case of an emergency during the event.

Made absolute sense to me and I've been doing it ever since.

 

I usually carry one (my own, annually certified Halon units) on every car I take out for road testing and place it somewhere easily reachable.

I also have a habit of placing one within easy reach when working on running cars or doing something potentially igniting, like cutting, grinding, welding, etc., just to be safe.

 

Just in last couple of weeks, I had to fabricate and weld some suspension repairs/upgrades on a vintage sports car and not only placed extinguishers within easy reach, but also took several additional preventive measures, including asked a friend to come and stand in as a fire watch while I was welding under the car ...

 

 

[padgett]

a) anything, even a gallon of water, is better than just watching.

b) Murphy's corollary: you won't need something you have but...

[Billy Kingsley]

I'm totally for a fire extinguisher, thankfully have never witnessed a need for one at a show but it's reassuring to know they are there.

 

With that said, I can also understand the question about minimum size. If someone owns a small car like an MG for example, or a Cyclecar, storage is a legitimate concern and there may not be space for anything that's not the occupants in the car. 

 

[TAKerry]

TTR,  I was doing some angle grinding, stepped out of my shop for literally 5 minutes. Came back to find it fully engulfed in fire. I learned many lessons that day. One thing I have started doing (on advice from others) since, whenever I grind or weld, I stay in the shop for at least 45 minutes after I am finished. Even if its just sitting in the chair listening to the radio.

[TTR]

@TAKerry Sorry to hear/read about your bad experience with shop fire. 
While I too have experienced & learned from plenty of stupid things I did in my younger years, I guess I’ve been fortunate that they’ve been relatively minor and didn’t involve major losses, extended hospital stays or worse...

 

I was mentored early on to never leave a shop or any site unattended for at least 30 minutes after working on or with something that has potential of flaring up. I usually don’t leave batteries, battery tenders/- chargers, etc connected or keys in the cars at the shop overnight or when I’m not nearby. Just habits I’ve developed over the years and so far they’ve served me pretty well.

 

As for staying at the end of the day to make sure nothing is smoldering or potentially igniting, especially after grinding/welding/etc, there’s always cleaning and organizing to keep oneself preoccupied.

Edited April 21, 2021 by TTR (see edit history)

[John348]

On 4/15/2021 at 5:10 PM, HarryLime said:

I never understood why extinguishers are usually jammed under a front wheel at car shows . Can't it be mounted in the car somewhere safe ? 

 

I think it is really good that there is a consistent place for the fire extinguisher, in the event that one is needed at least a percentage of the people know where to find one. I wish that the placement of the extinguisher would be standard among all of the clubs in the hobby.

Standardization can be very good!