Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post - Alert: How old is your fire extinguisher?

kozzy · 04-01-2017, 01:12 PM

I am a Career Firefighter in Upstate NY, ill share some insight. Portable extinguishers hold ratings, and those rating are on the label. Something most people do not know, is those ratings, which dictate how much fire they SHOULD put out, are based on professionals that are trained to use them, which, unless your a firefighter, you are not. so never take what the label says to the bank as far as how much they will do. That being said, the ones we get with our campers are way to small do really do anything. The are designed for like a trash can that might catch fire, or food in a pan. if the fire is extending to walls and cabinets, and not just in pan, that is more then those extinguishers will be able to handle. Min that should be carried in a camper is (2) 5lb ABC extinguishers. These need to be checked annually to make sure the needle is still in the green, if it is even close to being in the red zone, replace it. They should be replaced every 5 years, or when you see an issue with it during your inspection. UHFTX also pointed out they need to be shaken once in a while to make sure the powder has not settled. 100% correct. Every couple of months is a safe bet. As far as placement, these need to be in a location that makes sense, and that is not usually by the door. One should be placed in the cooking area, one in the sleeping area. The sleeping area simply for ease to grab, if its night, and everyone is asleep, you want to be able to grab it before u head to the place you might need it. the cooking area is obvious, and you don't want to have to move far to get it to put out a cooking fire. Seconds can count. Campers are made from very light weight materials, and are not designed to withstand any kind of fire damage to the structure. Any fire other than a small incipient fire contained to the container of origin will pretty much make that RV a total lose. manufactures know that. Not to mention all the materials, synthetics, plastics, etc, all burn fast. An RV will go from incipient to free burning in less than 10 minutes. if you are already out, stay out, save your efforts, you wont save the unit. if you are inside, get out safely. Sorry for the long post, just some safety tips that might help out...Units can be replaced, lives cant...One thing we always say at work starting our shift is "Everyone goes home" that's always the most important...

04-01-2017, 01:12 PM	#6
kozzy Montana Fan Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Nokomis Posts: 464 M.O.C. #18144	I am a Career Firefighter in Upstate NY, ill share some insight. Portable extinguishers hold ratings, and those rating are on the label. Something most people do not know, is those ratings, which dictate how much fire they SHOULD put out, are based on professionals that are trained to use them, which, unless your a firefighter, you are not. so never take what the label says to the bank as far as how much they will do. That being said, the ones we get with our campers are way to small do really do anything. The are designed for like a trash can that might catch fire, or food in a pan. if the fire is extending to walls and cabinets, and not just in pan, that is more then those extinguishers will be able to handle. Min that should be carried in a camper is (2) 5lb ABC extinguishers. These need to be checked annually to make sure the needle is still in the green, if it is even close to being in the red zone, replace it. They should be replaced every 5 years, or when you see an issue with it during your inspection. UHFTX also pointed out they need to be shaken once in a while to make sure the powder has not settled. 100% correct. Every couple of months is a safe bet. As far as placement, these need to be in a location that makes sense, and that is not usually by the door. One should be placed in the cooking area, one in the sleeping area. The sleeping area simply for ease to grab, if its night, and everyone is asleep, you want to be able to grab it before u head to the place you might need it. the cooking area is obvious, and you don't want to have to move far to get it to put out a cooking fire. Seconds can count. Campers are made from very light weight materials, and are not designed to withstand any kind of fire damage to the structure. Any fire other than a small incipient fire contained to the container of origin will pretty much make that RV a total lose. manufactures know that. Not to mention all the materials, synthetics, plastics, etc, all burn fast. An RV will go from incipient to free burning in less than 10 minutes. if you are already out, stay out, save your efforts, you wont save the unit. if you are inside, get out safely. Sorry for the long post, just some safety tips that might help out...Units can be replaced, lives cant...One thing we always say at work starting our shift is "Everyone goes home" that's always the most important...