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Post by viv on Aug 18, 2006 11:58:08 GMT
I have bought a small one from Halfords. any suggestions as to where to fit it in my OUtlook and how. I gather it cannot just be left loose as it may be dangerous.
thanks
Viv
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Post by Derek on Aug 18, 2006 12:36:17 GMT
We carry ours in the drivers side door pocket. I couldn't bring myself to make screw holes in the Furniture  Derek |
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Post by romingtim on Oct 19, 2006 17:00:19 GMT
Not sure which Fire Extinguisher you have bought but generally they are the powder variety for vehicles.
A word of warning about setting it off, if you don't mind me donning my Fire Safety Officer hat!!
The reason they are normally powder is to take care of gas and vapour fires however all powder extinguishers make a massive amount of mess, so the ubiquitous bucket of water may well be the better option for inside the van itself, although under the bonnet the powder is perfect.
Another common problem among powder extinguishers is 'settling' where the contents become almost a solid lump in the body of the extinguisher. This is mostly caused by the vibration in the vehicle, otherwise all powder extinguishers in buildings would go the same way!
Good practice is to shake the extinguisher gently once a month to make sure the powder is still mobile.
While you are doing that you can check the gauge, if fitted, to make sure the needle is still in the green, or the renewal date to make sure it is not in need of replacement.
Its obviously easier and less scary to prevent a fire than to deal with it, and a small extinguisher like that would only give you 10 seconds or so of powder so you are not going to put out a big fire with it.
If anyone wants any more info about fire safety and site safety requirements I'll do my best to help out.
Tim
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Post by wendy on Oct 19, 2006 18:27:12 GMT
Perhaps we could have a 'Fire Safety' meet sometime and Tim could give us some tips to keep ourselves a bit safer.  We have our extinguisher in the passenger door pocket, where it has it's own little section. Not sure if that is a Citroen or Romahome idea. |
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Post by Graham on Oct 19, 2006 19:33:28 GMT
We have our extinguisher in the passenger door pocket, where it has it's own little section. Not sure if that is a Citroen or Romahome idea. Oh, so that's what its for, we put our pop and wine bottles in there!  I suppose we could always pour Coca Cola on the fire, I wouldn't waste the wine. Graham |
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Post by romingtim on Oct 19, 2006 21:04:11 GMT
It'd need to be a 2 litre bottle of coke Graham, a can's not going to be much use  |
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Post by moya on Oct 19, 2006 21:20:37 GMT
We keep ours standing upright in the corner of the cupboard under the sink. Like Derek said we didn't want to start putting screws in anywhere.
Do you think that is ok Tim? Have thought about getting one of those fire blankets as well but haven't got round to it yet.
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Post by romingtim on Oct 19, 2006 21:28:28 GMT
As long as the extinguisher is not going to fall over and damage itself it should be fine.
A fire blanket is a good idea for use in a van for fires over the hob as it can be laid over the hob and the gas turned off in safety, the blanket will then smother the flames and the fire will go out. Don't forget that they are also best for a fire of clothing when being worn, used by wrapping the blanket tightly around the body and then rolling the casualty on the floor.
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Jack
30+ posts.... a 2 wheeler!
Posts: 49
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Post by Jack on Oct 19, 2006 22:25:11 GMT
I have my fire extinguisher screwed into my top cupboard, next to the 'wardrobe',,,,,,,J&P
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Post by wendy on Oct 20, 2006 12:09:35 GMT
As long as the extinguisher is not going to fall over and damage itself it should be fine. A fire blanket is a good idea for use in a van for fires over the hob as it can be laid over the hob and the gas turned off in safety, the blanket will then smother the flames and the fire will go out. Don't forget that they are also best for a fire of clothing when being worn, used by wrapping the blanket tightly around the body and then rolling the casualty on the floor. We have a fire blanket as well Mr Fire Officer, Sir. |
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Post by Graham on Oct 20, 2006 13:22:06 GMT
I am told by Pauline that we have a fire blanket (although I can't remember seeing it) and a two litre bottle of coke where the fire extinguisher should go, so hopefully we should be OK. ;D
Graham
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Post by Pauline on Oct 20, 2006 15:02:51 GMT
If you keep your extinguisher in a cupboard it might be worth having a fire drill and seeing just how quickly you could get at it if there was a real fire - if you would have to be inside the van to get at the extinguisher then that would not be a good idea if the fire was at the cooker, especially in a Duo or Outlook etc. you could be trapped. Stating the obvious I know but sometimes we don't always think about positioning. Our fire blanket (as positioned by Romahome) is in a small cupboard next to the cooker. My only concern is that, in the event of a fire, we would have to have our head on a level with the cooker while trying to reach it!!  Plus, the bottom of the blanket holder is quite near the floor so to pull on the tapes of the blanket would be difficult. We nearly had need of them a while ago while cooking a pizza in the oven. As I slid a spatula under the pizza to lift it out it slipped backwards and down into the flames!!! I don't know which was more frightening, the thick black smoke or the noise of the smoke alarm - luckily I had the quick thinking (even though panicking!) to turn the oven off to turn out the flames and Graham whizzed open the doors and heiki. Some strong blowing soon had the flames out! Luckily it was Graham's half of the pizza that was burnt |
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Post by Pauline on Oct 20, 2006 15:05:40 GMT
Perhaps we could have a 'Fire Safety' meet sometime and Tim could give us some tips to keep ourselves a bit safer. Ooooh will he come in his uniform ;D |
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Post by romingtim on Oct 20, 2006 15:07:10 GMT
I can see you are 'young at heart' Graham and taking this all very lightly. Which is no bad thing, I'm not an old stick in the mud lecturer type believe me. However on a more serious note, anyone who has had a fire, of any sort, will recount a harrowing story of how fast the fire spread and how damaging it was. Considering the fact that most Romahomes, dimensions included, make use of large amounts of glassfibre there are some serious considerations to this area. Glassfibre gives off some very noxious fumes when burning and if there is a fire in a van its likely that the van will be written off unless it is controlled/extinguished extremely quickly. As our vans are not only expensive items they are also our favoured form of travel/leisure the loss of the van and ensuing insurance fight is not really appealing, to me at least! Preparation is the pbest prevention and all that....lecture over  All I am hoping to get across is that safety is something we should all keep in our minds, especially when we are sleeping in vans. Tim |
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Post by romingtim on Oct 20, 2006 15:09:07 GMT
Perhaps we could have a 'Fire Safety' meet sometime and Tim could give us some tips to keep ourselves a bit safer. Ooooh will he come in his uniform ;D For a small fee I'm sure that could be arranged Pauline ;D ;D  |
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Post by Pauline on Oct 20, 2006 15:29:14 GMT
For a small fee I'm sure that could be arranged Pauline ;D ;D No way! I wouldn't dream of charging you. (Would it be the charge of the light fire brigade?  ) |
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Post by Graham on Oct 20, 2006 16:14:24 GMT
I can see you are 'young at heart' Graham and taking this all very lightly. Which is no bad thing, I'm not an old stick in the mud lecturer type believe me. Oops sorry to be so flippant Tim, of course your right it is a serious subject. I always thought the idea that the Camping and Caravan Club have of having a bucket of water outside each unit is a good idea, in the event of a fire lots of buckets of water tackling it quickly could make all the difference to how bad the fire was. Unfortunately these days not many people seem to have fire buckets (us included I am ashamed to say) even on Club sites. We have made a mental note to put a fire extinguisher on our shopping list because I for one wouldn't want our beloved Dimension to go up in flames. Graham (serious for once) |
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Post by moya on Oct 20, 2006 16:38:06 GMT
If you keep your extinguisher in a cupboard it might be worth having a fire drill and seeing just how quickly you could get at it if there was a real fire - if you would have to be inside the van to get at the extinguisher then that would not be a good idea if the fire was at the cooker, especially in a Duo or Outlook etc. you could be trapped. I thought that by having it in the cupboard under the sink that if there was a fire at the cooker I would be able to grab it quick. When you think about it I suppose it is difficult to know where the best place is for it. If you had and engine fire the front of the van in the door is the easiest place to grab it from but if the fire was at the cooker the kitchen end is best. Quite a dilema unless you had more than one extinguisher.  |
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