Discussions
Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

One type of fire extinguisher that does not appear on most lists is a backpack type. Those are available in hard tank like the one shown Or in soft tank which can be rolled up and stored very compactly. If you shop carefully you can get one for < $100, sometimes for quite a bit less. Foam nozzles are available for them for ~$12. By using a foam nozzle and filling the tank with Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) you can make it effective on ordinary solid combustibles and on combustible and flammable liquids. They are safe to apply to electrified burning materials because the foam will lack the continuity  of the stream to conduct electricity. You just have to stay back at least 10 feet. [It is also very dangerous to more closely approach any fire without appropriate protective equipment suitable to the type of fuel which is burning.] These extinguishers can be refilled from any source of water. Foam additive can be cached to provide for refilling them with AFFF foam. Another first aid firefighting pump that is worth having is a Stirrup pump. When place in any container of water it will discharge the stream through a long hose so the nozzle person can concentrate on getting the water on the fire and the container can be refilled with interrupting  the pump person and disrupting the continuous flow of water. These can be found both new and used. T Atkins H

Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022
Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

Speaking of the danger of going to get the extinguisher there is a good practice that will reduce the risk. The first part of the best practice is to R.A.C.E. against the fire. That acronym means Rescue Get everyone out before you do anything else. Alarm Call whatever help is available so they can already be on the way. Confine Close any interior doors or other barriers to fire spread as you remove people in danger. Extinguish, Only after you have executed the other 3 steps should you consider attempting extinguishment. Place the extinguisher as close as you can get it to an exterior exit door of your home. When you go to get it you will then already be at an exit door. If you turn back towards the fire and have an Oh Sh*t reaction you can turn back and use the exit to escape any risk of entrapment. Firefighters have a risk evaluation mantra that is worth thinking about. Risk a lot to save a human life Risk a little to save property Risk nothing for lives already lost or property already destroyed. T Atkins H

Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

From a prepping standpoint a used Ansul Cartridge operated extinguisher may be the best choice. That is because they can be refilled in the field without any special tools or equipment. Used cartridge operated fire extinguishers are available for fairly short money. This is because a change to National Fire Protection Association Standard on portable fire extinguishers’ NFPA #10. has made all fire extinguishers that do not have pictograph operating diagrams obsolete. The only purpose of the change to the standard is to force owners of extinguishers which will be inspected by code enforcement authorities to buy new extinguishers. The only difference between the old and new Ansul Redline Cartridge operated extinguishers is the absence of the pictographs on the older models. No change was made to the extinguisher itself at all. Add on pictograph labels are available for $1 to $3 but are not acceptable to code authorities as an upgrade to standard compliance. As a result of this slight of hand change in the standard there are a lot of “Obsolete” cartridge operated extinguishers available for sale. Read the refilling steps below and you will see that they are simple enough that any adult can refill the extinguisher. To refill a cartridge operated extinguisher you only need to; Discharge any remaining propellant gas from the extinguisher, This is best done with the extinguisher turned upside down to avoid discharging the left over dry chemical extinguishing agent. Remove the propellant gas cylinder cover, It just snaps on and off because it is held in place by a spring clip, Remove the expended propellant gas cylinder from its reverse threaded port, Remove the extinguisher fill cap slowly, There are slots in the fill cap threads to allow any remaining pressure to escape safely during the removal of the cap, Sift the remaining dry chemical into a plastic bucket through a sieve, Add enough new dry chemical of exactly the same type to have the required weight of dry chemical shown on the label,  Place the dry chemical in the extinguisher’s cylinder, Replace the fill cap on the extinguisher, Pull the charging paddle up to the ready position until it stops, Inspect inside the propellant gas cylinder port threads to see that the puncture pin that opens the seal of the propellant gas cylinder was pulled up into it’s ready position by your lifting of the charging lever and is not still down in the threaded area of the port, Remove the reverse threaded protective shipping cap from the proper size replacement propellant gas cylinder, Screw the replacement propellant gas cylinder into the reverse threaded port, Snap the propellant gas cylinder guard into place, put the hose and nozzle back in place to prevent accidental charging of the extinguisher with the propellant gas. The unique suitability of these extinguishers for use by preppers is that by caching a supply of Dry Chemical extinguishing agent, say 2 or more full recharges worth of dry chemical and propellant gas cartridges, they can keep the extinguisher ready for use for a long period of time. T Atkins H

Reply to: Fire and ice – Lessons learned through a wildfire evacuation and an epic ice storm Posted March 28, 2021

If you have a tractor and  some sort of plow then Plow On Warning. Run a plow line around your homestead being mindful of how terrain effects fire spread. Run a second plow line several yards from the first. Then follow an old wild fire hand crew motto. “If your in doubt then fire it out.” Firing out a constructed hand or plow line is a fast way to widen your fire control line. With 2 plow lines you fire out the space in between. Start firing from the LEEWARD or DOWNWIND side of the burn out strip. A fire backing into the wind is a lot less likely to spread too rapidly to control. Were the line runs with the wind direction fire that portion of the control line in short strips again from the DOWN WIND edge of each strip. WARNING: Backfire is VERY different from firing out a built line even when it is done from a built line. Backfire can be described as using the in-rushing air, that the updraft of an uncontrolled fire generates, which blows toward the base of the main fire and close to the ground, to push a firing out burn in towards the main fire. That in-rushing air flow does not occur until the main body of the fire is QUITE close. The timing is CRITICAL. Too soon and you’ve just spread the main fire because your firing line will move with the prevailing wind. Too late and the fired out area will not be wide enough to be effective. I tell you that to say NEVER ATTEMPT TO BACK FIRE UNLESS YOU ARE TRAINED, PRACTICED, AND EXPERIENCED. Training occurs during fire control school. Practice occurs during controlled burns done for habitat modification or fuel reduction. Experience occurs under truly experienced supervision while working on an uncontrolled fire. There is NO substitute for having done all three of those prior to using Backfire as a fire control technique. It is also worth knowing that the use of Backfire is reserved to the State’s Forester or their designate BY LAW in many states. Attempting to use it outside the State Forester’s control makes you liable to an  unlimited degree for any harm it causes, LEAVE THE USE OF BACKFIRE TO PROFESSIONAL WILD LAND FIREFIGHTERS! Many preppers will not hesitate to drop hundreds of dollars into a shooting course while ignoring the danger of wildland fire. A few survival schools offer wildfire survival seminars or course units. Of course you could cheat and take the free basic wildland firefighter training from a State or Federal agency. They’re expecting you to serve as a paid on call Wildland Firefighter once you complete the course. If you are in good enough shape; meaning that you can hike 3-miles with a 45-pound pack over level terrain within 45 minutes; you may want to turn out for a couple of call outs because that is the REAL secondary training. — Tommy

No activity yet.
Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

One type of fire extinguisher that does not appear on most lists is a backpack type. Those are available in hard tank like the one shown Or in soft tank which can be rolled up and stored very compactly. If you shop carefully you can get one for < $100, sometimes for quite a bit less. Foam nozzles are available for them for ~$12. By using a foam nozzle and filling the tank with Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) you can make it effective on ordinary solid combustibles and on combustible and flammable liquids. They are safe to apply to electrified burning materials because the foam will lack the continuity  of the stream to conduct electricity. You just have to stay back at least 10 feet. [It is also very dangerous to more closely approach any fire without appropriate protective equipment suitable to the type of fuel which is burning.] These extinguishers can be refilled from any source of water. Foam additive can be cached to provide for refilling them with AFFF foam. Another first aid firefighting pump that is worth having is a Stirrup pump. When place in any container of water it will discharge the stream through a long hose so the nozzle person can concentrate on getting the water on the fire and the container can be refilled with interrupting  the pump person and disrupting the continuous flow of water. These can be found both new and used. T Atkins H

Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022
Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

Speaking of the danger of going to get the extinguisher there is a good practice that will reduce the risk. The first part of the best practice is to R.A.C.E. against the fire. That acronym means Rescue Get everyone out before you do anything else. Alarm Call whatever help is available so they can already be on the way. Confine Close any interior doors or other barriers to fire spread as you remove people in danger. Extinguish, Only after you have executed the other 3 steps should you consider attempting extinguishment. Place the extinguisher as close as you can get it to an exterior exit door of your home. When you go to get it you will then already be at an exit door. If you turn back towards the fire and have an Oh Sh*t reaction you can turn back and use the exit to escape any risk of entrapment. Firefighters have a risk evaluation mantra that is worth thinking about. Risk a lot to save a human life Risk a little to save property Risk nothing for lives already lost or property already destroyed. T Atkins H

Reply to: Best fire extinguisher for your home and vehicle Posted May 17, 2022

From a prepping standpoint a used Ansul Cartridge operated extinguisher may be the best choice. That is because they can be refilled in the field without any special tools or equipment. Used cartridge operated fire extinguishers are available for fairly short money. This is because a change to National Fire Protection Association Standard on portable fire extinguishers’ NFPA #10. has made all fire extinguishers that do not have pictograph operating diagrams obsolete. The only purpose of the change to the standard is to force owners of extinguishers which will be inspected by code enforcement authorities to buy new extinguishers. The only difference between the old and new Ansul Redline Cartridge operated extinguishers is the absence of the pictographs on the older models. No change was made to the extinguisher itself at all. Add on pictograph labels are available for $1 to $3 but are not acceptable to code authorities as an upgrade to standard compliance. As a result of this slight of hand change in the standard there are a lot of “Obsolete” cartridge operated extinguishers available for sale. Read the refilling steps below and you will see that they are simple enough that any adult can refill the extinguisher. To refill a cartridge operated extinguisher you only need to; Discharge any remaining propellant gas from the extinguisher, This is best done with the extinguisher turned upside down to avoid discharging the left over dry chemical extinguishing agent. Remove the propellant gas cylinder cover, It just snaps on and off because it is held in place by a spring clip, Remove the expended propellant gas cylinder from its reverse threaded port, Remove the extinguisher fill cap slowly, There are slots in the fill cap threads to allow any remaining pressure to escape safely during the removal of the cap, Sift the remaining dry chemical into a plastic bucket through a sieve, Add enough new dry chemical of exactly the same type to have the required weight of dry chemical shown on the label,  Place the dry chemical in the extinguisher’s cylinder, Replace the fill cap on the extinguisher, Pull the charging paddle up to the ready position until it stops, Inspect inside the propellant gas cylinder port threads to see that the puncture pin that opens the seal of the propellant gas cylinder was pulled up into it’s ready position by your lifting of the charging lever and is not still down in the threaded area of the port, Remove the reverse threaded protective shipping cap from the proper size replacement propellant gas cylinder, Screw the replacement propellant gas cylinder into the reverse threaded port, Snap the propellant gas cylinder guard into place, put the hose and nozzle back in place to prevent accidental charging of the extinguisher with the propellant gas. The unique suitability of these extinguishers for use by preppers is that by caching a supply of Dry Chemical extinguishing agent, say 2 or more full recharges worth of dry chemical and propellant gas cartridges, they can keep the extinguisher ready for use for a long period of time. T Atkins H

Reply to: Fire and ice – Lessons learned through a wildfire evacuation and an epic ice storm Posted March 28, 2021

If you have a tractor and  some sort of plow then Plow On Warning. Run a plow line around your homestead being mindful of how terrain effects fire spread. Run a second plow line several yards from the first. Then follow an old wild fire hand crew motto. “If your in doubt then fire it out.” Firing out a constructed hand or plow line is a fast way to widen your fire control line. With 2 plow lines you fire out the space in between. Start firing from the LEEWARD or DOWNWIND side of the burn out strip. A fire backing into the wind is a lot less likely to spread too rapidly to control. Were the line runs with the wind direction fire that portion of the control line in short strips again from the DOWN WIND edge of each strip. WARNING: Backfire is VERY different from firing out a built line even when it is done from a built line. Backfire can be described as using the in-rushing air, that the updraft of an uncontrolled fire generates, which blows toward the base of the main fire and close to the ground, to push a firing out burn in towards the main fire. That in-rushing air flow does not occur until the main body of the fire is QUITE close. The timing is CRITICAL. Too soon and you’ve just spread the main fire because your firing line will move with the prevailing wind. Too late and the fired out area will not be wide enough to be effective. I tell you that to say NEVER ATTEMPT TO BACK FIRE UNLESS YOU ARE TRAINED, PRACTICED, AND EXPERIENCED. Training occurs during fire control school. Practice occurs during controlled burns done for habitat modification or fuel reduction. Experience occurs under truly experienced supervision while working on an uncontrolled fire. There is NO substitute for having done all three of those prior to using Backfire as a fire control technique. It is also worth knowing that the use of Backfire is reserved to the State’s Forester or their designate BY LAW in many states. Attempting to use it outside the State Forester’s control makes you liable to an  unlimited degree for any harm it causes, LEAVE THE USE OF BACKFIRE TO PROFESSIONAL WILD LAND FIREFIGHTERS! Many preppers will not hesitate to drop hundreds of dollars into a shooting course while ignoring the danger of wildland fire. A few survival schools offer wildfire survival seminars or course units. Of course you could cheat and take the free basic wildland firefighter training from a State or Federal agency. They’re expecting you to serve as a paid on call Wildland Firefighter once you complete the course. If you are in good enough shape; meaning that you can hike 3-miles with a 45-pound pack over level terrain within 45 minutes; you may want to turn out for a couple of call outs because that is the REAL secondary training. — Tommy