The very first thing you should do if you set fire to your garage is to call 911. Do that before you even grab your extinguisher. Next make certain that every member of the family is out of the house. Your family is a lot more important than the Lotus XI that’s on fire in your home garage. Human life is always more important than property. With the fire department on the way and the family standing on the front lawn you can now reach for the extinguisher.
Types of Fires: There are five different types of fires. We can rule out cooking oil fires in your garage so that brings us down to four.
Class A: These fires involve ordinary combustibles such as wood, paper, cloth, trash, and plastics. This is your basic trash fire. Class A fires always leave ash when the fire is over.
Class B: This type of fire involves flammable liquids such as gasoline, petroleum products and paint. Class B fires also include flammable gasses such as propane and butane.
Class C: Here we have fires that involve energized electrical equipment such as motors, transformers, and appliances.
Class D: These fires occur in combustible metals such as potassium, sodium, aluminum, and magnesium. If you have an Indy car with magnesium wheels and an aluminum body you’re going to need a class D extinguisher. Aluminum and magnesium truly complicate your choices since the average home extinguisher only works on A, B and C fires. You’re going to need a special extinguisher for Class D fires.
Types of Portable Fire Extinguishers: There are at least eight different types of portable extinguishers for your home garage. For practical purposes we can reduce that number to four.
Dry Chemical: These are usually rated for multiple purpose use. They use a compressed non-flammable gas as a propellant. A dry chemical extinguisher puts out a fire by separating the fuel from the oxygen in the air with a thin layer of chemical dust. These are the most common extinguishers.
Halon/Halotron I: Halon interrupts the chemical reaction that takes place when fuel burns. The good part is that Halon leaves no residue to clean up. They do though have a limited range of around 4 to 6 feet. Halotron I was introduced in 1992 to replace ozone-depleting halon 1211. Halotron I is a clean agent that leaves no residue after application. It’s readily available in 5lb. and 11 lb. hand held extinguishers.
Water: These units use compressed gas to disperse the water. They work by removing the heat from the fire but keep in mind that water is only useful for Class A fires. Water extinguishers are not a good choice for your garage.
Carbon Dioxide: CO2 extinguishers are effective on B (liquids) and C (electrical) fires. The carbon dioxide is stored in the extinguisher as a liquid. CO2 is a gas at room temperature and when under pressure. When you release the pressure the gas expands and come out in a cool white stream. This stream of gas smothers the fire and removes the heat. These units are ideal for a small welding fire.
How Many and How Big? A 5.0 lb. fire extinguisher is the minimum for your home garage. This weight refers to the amount of chemical inside, not the complete unit. In most cases bigger is better, but sometimes the biggest extinguishers are too heavy to maneuver. It’s probably better to have several 5.0 lb. units than a single large extinguisher.
If you have a basic 3-car garage you should have several extinguishers. The general rule is that you should always be within 50 feet of a fire extinguisher. You should also clearly mark the location. Do not keep the extinguisher under your workbench. While you may remember where the extinguisher is located what about the rest of the family?
Always position the extinguisher near a door. Keeping it by the door means that you can back out of the garage should the fire become so great that you no longer feel safe fighting the fire.
You should only buy an extinguisher that has a pressure gauge. Likewise always make sure that the extinguisher is Underwriters Lab approved. Look for the UL symbol. The presence of the UL means that the extinguisher has been built to a standard.
Inspection and Maintenance: You should take a quick look at your extinguisher on a monthly basis. You want to make sure that the needle is in the green area. While doing this make sure that the pin is in place and that no insects have taken up home in the nozzle. Also make sure that the family hasn’t put stuff in front of the extinguisher.
Recharging: The problem here is the head on the extinguisher. The units with the plastic heads really shouldn't be recharged. It can be done but the success rate is not very high. A fire extinguisher with a metal head the unit can be recharged.
In some communities the local fire department will recharge your extinguisher. If they can’t they can certainly recommend someone that can do it. In some parts of the world though it’s cheaper to buy a new unit than it is to recharge an old unit.
Training: Every member of the family should be familiar with the extinguishers. They may not realize how heavy a fire extinguisher actually is. Have them lift the extinguisher and pretend they’re putting out a fire. Have them pull the pin and throw it aside. Practice it the same way as you would do in an emergency.
When was the last time you used one on a real fire? In many communities the local fire department offers fire extinguisher training. You need to develop some confidence in your ability to actually use the fire extinguisher. When was the last time you used an extinguisher on a real fire? Your teenagers will love fire training. And it may even be necessary at some point. You just hope not. A fire extinguisher is one of those items you purchase with the hope that you never have to use it.