Primitive and modern outdoor skills

Fire extinguisher

2015-03-28

Ever wonder what it's like to actually use a fire extinguisher?

Well, the one in my Jeep got recalled. A few days ago the replacement finally arrived. As a concerned citizen and proper adult I wanted to make sure I disposed of the recalled fire extinguisher properly. It wouldn't be responsible of me to leave a possibly faulty fire-extinguisher lying around.

As it turns out the proper way to dispose of a fire extinguisher is to first discharge it, and then throw it away.

So, I was obliged to discharge the fire extinguisher. A tragedy:

DSC00683

I think it actually shot a bit farther than that, and the camera caught the beginning of the first burst (it took 3 photos in a row, the first 2 had no burst yet). This is an ABC extinguisher I believe, using a powder, so the powder blew a short distance as a cloud like if you were throwing flour in the air to try and light it on fire (not that I've done that... no never, certainly not).

Again, this is my car fire extinguisher (I got a new one, since my old one is mounted in Jess' truck, and I figured she might need it too), so it's tiny. It probably shot stuff for about 4, maybe 5 seconds. I see why people say to use very short bursts, if you miss you want to get a chance to pause and re-aim, not use it up n the wrong direction.

That is all, I just thought I would share the amusing experience.