On Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:11:28 +0200, Nick Mueller
wrote:
Bruce L. Bergman wrote:

Give your 'Safety Man' a garden hose with a trigger nozzle or a full
garden sprayer with clean water in it, and the nozzle set for heavy
cone spray.

But don't try to extinguish a gas fire with water. Stupid idea!

No, that's what the Dry Chemical and/or CO2 extinguisher you have
sitting right there next to you are for - when you realize that water
isn't going to cut it this time, takes you three seconds to drop the
hose, grab an extinguisher, pull the pin, squeeze and sweep.

Still a hell of a lot faster than if you weren't there working the
safety man position at all, or if you had to go run to get the F.E.
off the wall bracket and run back.

I've tried the opposite and it doesn't work well - put out burning
stucco lath (tar paper) Class A fire with a CO2, and it flashes again
when the CO2 blows away. (But in the switchroom, Halon and CO2 was
all we had. They didn't want any oopsies with water on electronics.)

I have a wide assortment of extinguishers scattered around my house
to fit any possible need - ABC, BC, Purple-K, pressurized water, CO2.
Halon 1211 by the computers, and Potassium Acetate "Class K" for the
kitchen.

Southern California is bone dry and it's only the start of the
summer, we're going to have a vicious wildfire season this year - and
if everyone doing any sort of outside work (brush clearance,
construction) in a "wilderness interface area" has a water source or
an extinguisher readily at hand, we could stop half the wildfires
before they got going.

Welding or grinding sparks will get away and start an inferno really
fast - or if you're prepared and paying attention, you can jump on it
and put the fire out in the first few seconds. You need to have it
right there with you - If you have to 'run back to the truck and get
something', it's going to be too late.

-- Bruce --