Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:16:35 -0800
Reply-To: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Subject: FIRE!!! (True story from this morning)
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Well, ironically after all this discussion about fire and Halon vs. PKP,
etc. I had the opportunity this morning to put the theory to practice...
During this morning's rainy 8 AM rush hour, I was jockeying for position in
the #3 lane (second from the fast lane) excited that I finally left early
enough to make it to the office on time. Suddenly, I noticed a fellow
Vanagon pulling over on the right shoulder with *gasp* flames spurting out
the back. I quickly checked my mirrors, flipped on the turn signal,
down-shifted, slammed on the brakes and literally careened across three
lanes of rush hour traffic (not easy to do in a Syncro Westy!). I came to
an abrupt stop immediately in front of the burning '80 Westy, slipped on my
new loafers, opened the glove box, and grabbed my cell phone and mini Halon
extinguisher. I then quickly jumped to the back and grabbed my
standard-issue PKP extinguisher, threw open the sliding door and jumped out
and into an ankle-deep mud puddle.
Kicking off the mud, I ran to the back of the burning Westy and asked the
disoriented woman standing there if the car had been running when she came
to a stop. "Yes" she said. "Good" I said - "I think we can save her!" And
I began squirting that nasty yellow powder up into the engine compartment
from just above the exhaust tubing on either side. This suppressed the
flames enough to allow me to gingerly open the license plate cover and get a
better shot at the likely source of the flames - those pesky F.I. lines
coming in from the fire wall. After a couple more squirts, the flames died
down to a low sputter.
About this time a CHP showed up and told me to step back away from the car,
that the block was burning, and there was nothing we could do. No, I said
- it hadn't been on fire long enough to get that hot - so he took my
extinguisher and doused the few remaining flames.
While he was poofing out the last couple of sputtering flames, I did my best
to console the distraught owner. I also took the opportunity to stress upon
her the importance (although a bit late) of maintaining her fuel lines!!! I
explained that with luck, she may be able to get by with replacing some
hoses and electrics, gave her my card and told her about all us wonderful
list members that would be glad to help in any way we can.
Needless to say, I didn't make it to work on time, but I did arrive beaming
with a sense of pride and do-gooder-ness that only comes from sacrificing
your $30 fire extinguisher and a pair of new loafers to save a fellow
Vanagon in need.
Some questions/thoughts that came as a result of this episode:
1. Hey, those stock fire extinguishers work pretty well!
2. Now where do I get a replacement extinguisher and bracket? (Will a Kidde
unit from Home Depot fit?) My brittle bracket broke while disengaging.
3. Never did use the Halon unit - I would have been unable to direct the
blast into the engine compartment.
4. What *is* the best way to put out a Vanagon engine fire, since you can't
really get under there without opening up the hatch, which of course could
be disastrous.
5. I wonder if you could install a racing-style Halon system that would have
the jets built into the engine compartment? In commercial kitchens, all the
ranges and stove tops are covered by an exhaust hood. Built into this
exhaust hood is a chemical or Halon extinguishing system that uses a
"fusible link" type of trigger. If it gets too hot, the link melts,
releasing all the flame retardant. (Very messy indeed if it happens
accidentally). Strange that I've never heard anyone discuss this sort of
thing on the list...
Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA
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