FIRE

[FormerCallingCardRep]

To those who saw this under Official Blanket Fort, last night the motor on our central air unit caught fire. 911 was called, Little Bit's boyfriend Z-Man put the fire out before the Fire Department got here and they cleared the apartment of smoke.

I slept very little last night after the fire. I think I was too afraid to fall asleep. I have been dragging all day today.

The landlord sent the maintenance crew today and they removed the burnt up motor and wiring and replaced all that was destroyed by the fire in the unit. I am so glad that they got everything fixed as quick as they did.

Thank the Lord that Z-Man kept his wits last night and poured a bucket of water on the fire and put it out. He is a hero in my book.

[Seraph]

Oh jeez louise, FCCR. Glad to hear everyone's ok! D:

[Sapphire Silk]

Glad he got the fire out, but FYI: never put water on an electrical fire. It usually makes it worse.

Your landlord may be required to supply you with a fire extinguisher in your state. Check the tenant codes and your rental agreement. If you don't have one, buy one at the Orange Apron or similar place. No home should be without one.

[Crossbow]

Glad he got the fire out, but FYI: never put water on an electrical fire. It usually makes it worse.

Your landlord may be required to supply you with a fire extinguisher in your state. Check the tenant codes and your rental agreement. If you don't have one, buy one at the Orange Apron or similar place. No home should be without one.

At least one. One stays in the kitchen, one somewhere in easy reach for a middle-of-the-night emergency. And I agree, never use water.

Ok, enough of the fireman's son-in-law. Glad everyone's ok and the damage was minimal.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

We are all fine. I was just afraid that the fire would start back up last night. I think that is why I did not sleep last night,

[Mytical]

Glad everybody is ok, and remember I am but a pm away if you ever need to chat.

[wolfie]

To those who saw this under Official Blanket Fort, last night the motor on our central air unit caught fire. 911 was called, Little Bit's boyfriend Z-Man put the fire out before the Fire Department got here and they cleared the apartment of smoke.

Thank the Lord that Z-Man kept his wits last night and poured a bucket of water on the fire and put it out. He is a hero in my book.

Glad he got the fire out, but FYI: never put water on an electrical fire. It usually makes it worse.

Water is NOT recommended for either class B (flammable liquid) or class C (electrical) fires, for different reasons:

Class B: Most flammable liquids in the household are petroleum-based. They don't mix with water (in fact, will float on it and spread out). Putting water on the fire spreads it over a larger area. Of course, if you KNOW that the flammable liquid involved doesn't behave in this manner (e.g. alcohol fuel in Indy cars - if there's a fuel spill, they assume there's a fire, and hose it down), then water is OK. After all, as a redneck would say "beer don't burn too good".

Class C: Water conducts electricity, so you're at risk of being electrocuted if you try to put it out with water. Of course, if you turn off the breaker (should do that anyway - take away a source of energy which could re-ignite things), it's no longer a class C fire, and can be dealt with using water (unless there's petroleum involved).

There are some other classes of fire where you want to avoid water, but they usually involve exotic flammables - how likely are you to have a sodium (or magnesium) fire around the house?

[Sapphire Silk]

There are some other classes of fire where you want to avoid water, but they usually involve exotic flammables - how likely are you to have a sodium (or magnesium) fire around the house?

When I was in high school, fairly likely. I had a chem lab in the garage and made my own chemicals.

[Crossbow]

how likely are you to have a sodium (or magnesium) fire around the house?

Define "around the house." Does "within hearing distance of the explosions" count? If it does, then about 9 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37cRuPOiPXM
http://www.fireworld.com/ifw_article...ld_Heights.php

Yes, I could hear and see it from my apartment at the time. The explosions were bright enough to be seen from the International Space Station.

[Chromatix]

Agreed - first thing to do with a fire is remove the heat source if possible. Ie. if there's gas or electricity anywhere near the fire, turn it off.

Live electric fires can be tackled safely using dry-powder or CO2 extinguishers. But it's almost always possible to turn off the supply in a domestic situation, so just do that instead of keeping special extinguishers around. That's what railways and tramways do, even though it takes minutes on end to organise the isolation and safety earthing of the live wire/rail.

The biggest danger with oil/fat fires is that added water, after sinking below the burning oil, *boils* and thus splashes the burning oil everywhere. That is why the recommended course of action with a chip-pan fire is to cover it with an air-proof blanket, starving it of oxygen until it can cool down below flashpoint. Fire blankets are sold widely, but if you don't have one to hand you can improvise one with a *damp* - not wet - towel. In other words, wet a towel and then wring it out thoroughly before putting it in place.

Professionals use foam to deal with an oil fire. Foam floats on oil, rather than the other way around. Or, if they use water, it is strictly to cool down the container of oil so that it doesn't burst under pressure (a so-called BLEVE could result from that). It might be wise to keep a foam extinguisher in the garage, if you work on your own car.

For almost everything else, water is an effective and safe extinguishing agent. Note that it works by cooling the fuel below combustion point, so apply it to the base of the fire, not to the flames.

[wolfie]

Define "around the house." Does "within hearing distance of the explosions" count? If it does, then about 9 years ago.

No - what I meant was stuff used within the household that would require an extinguisher other than the standard "ABC" models.