Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 19:17:33 -0800
Reply-To: ffmedic <ffmedic7@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: ffmedic <ffmedic7@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: FW: FIRE!!! (True story from this morning)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Tom & Gerry,
Sounds like a good good save! Love those stories. As
for halon or dry chem (PKP is a dry chem), I can tell
you that halon ONLY works if you have enough to
displace all the oxygen, in addition to catching the
fire before everything gets too hot. This is a great
agent for computer rooms and other contained spaces.
The halon breaks the chemical reaction of fire (so to
speak) but does nothing for the remaining vapors or
heat, which will re-ignite once the O2 returns. Dry
chem smothers, reducing vapor production, and does not
need to displace O2. Furthermore halon is not
produced anymore as it was discovered to not only be a
ozone depleting product, but became very toxic when
heated to high temperatures. CO2 is now used in it's
place.
I hope that helps!
Matt
P.S. Gerry, I am a firefighter in San Jose, Ca.
--- Coddington <coddington@pacific.net> wrote:
> Hi Matt,
> Thought you might be interested in this post from
> today on my "Vanagon List"
> I'd appreciate you comments re: Halon. Thanks for
> sending the Bali Info.
> Tom
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
> Of BRENT CHRISTENSEN
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2000 10:17 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: FIRE!!! (True story from this morning)
>
>
> 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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