Folks Of Interest SPOKANE CAR FIRE

The problem with the Halon is that when it is used on a fire it partly decomposes into noxious gases like Hydrogen Chloride, among others.
If you've ever thrown LP records into a bonfire, that's the nasty stuff you smell (hopefully in small amounts).

 

As a retired city firefighter, I always recommend to "anyone who will listen " Place yer car keys on top of the dash , above the steering wheel, with drivers window down. ( If your car is in the garage,)
If a firefighter has a chance, he will get your car out of Harm's way.
YOU WILL NOT LOSE YER HOUSE AND vehicle.-- you will be able to drive to the insurance office.
In my career we saved lots of vehicles because the keys were available

 

Glass fuel filters should be banned if you have one get rid of it . My friend in high school lost a really nice 70 f-250 on the beach cuz the glass filter broke , to close to the manifold and she caught fire it sucked, I always kept a fire extinguisher mounted in the cab or between the seats cuz ya never know.

 

I burned a broken Iron Butterfly LP once, I didn't notice any fumes but the colors man, the colors.

 

My dune buggy had one when I bought it. First thing I removed (after the wheelie bars). I try not to dis on another guys build but those things need to go away.

 

They will go away, it just depends on what will go with them.

 

I caught a fuel pump spraying gas on an engine inside of the garage. That was a close call had it sparked. Since then I always check the fuel delivery system carefully. I've installed new fuel lines and new fuel hose.

I always carry a fire extinguisher however I've thought about adding fire suppression in the engine bay.

 

100% THIS!!!
It amazes me that they are still allowed to sell those things. I used to do auto appraisals and saw more than a few classics birned to the ground in the insurance lots because of those things. It is crazy the amount of people who just refuse to listen to reason and keep using them. Besids the glass and crappy seals the plasit inside doesn't really filter anything.

Also, those crappy triangle wire mesh and foam Edelbrock air filters. If the foam doesn't get sucked into your engine it gets saturated with gas and lights on fire.

 

FYI Pres Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol which was a worldwide ban on ozone depleting substances. Hence the discontinued use of Halon. It was replaced by FM 200 or Inergen suppressants. I worked on many computer rooms with Halon Systems. When the preaction system signaled a Halon discharge you got out of there as the Halon displaced all the oxygen. And the contractor who set it off accidentally was in deep doo doo.

The typical powder fire extinguisher has a finite life and has to be certified when used in industry, I wouldn't count on one over a few years old after riding around in a trunk. Never test a dry extinguisher, the powder will remain in the valve and allow the propellant to soon leak out. HalGuard or Halotron are the ones to have but they aren't cheap.

 

I am Halon & FireBottle user ,
I am affiliated with a few tracks
I really gets me that Most all track @ starting line have Powder
Fire Extinguishers , I have seen so may
Engines filled with that messy powder ,
Fires do happen but Not that often.

I have a question about tube glass fuel filters with screw on end ,
I have a few that I have had since early 70s My father had used & I seen many used on race cars & hot rods of time ,
I grew up @ track , Hot Rod race town .
I do not recall hearing of fires because of back then...
I started seeing cheap made ones
Cheap ends , thin glass , nylon filter element Around late 80s 90ish & there is No way in Hell I would use the cheap ones ,
So do any of you Personally had issues with Old Ones , I do not know when first introduced 60 's ,50's ?

 

Ooh boy ...every year there's a spate of these...carry an extinguisher at all times... also "stuck throttles" please double up on your throttle return springs guys!! c'mon this shit's getting old

 

In that same plant that I worked in we had a guy from a fire extinguisher company that came in every month and checked every fire extinguisher in the plant and I am positive that he carried a rubber mallet with him to bonk the extinguishers. If one had been discharged it had to be serviced and refilled no matter how much material was left inside.
I've worked in a shop before that guys figured out that you could chill a can of beer or soda with a CO2 extinguisher and the damned extinguisher were always empty. The beer because of the people who hung around there after hours working on dirt track cars.

I've seen at least three cars or trucks that had engine fires because of those screw together filters and took one off one of my own rigs after it leaked not long after I bought the car. I've taken them off a couple of cars that I worked on and had the owners until I showed them photos I had taken of engine fires caused by them.
The other thing you don't want and all too often you see them side by side on and engine is one of those plastic Fuel pressure regulators that is usually on the same pegboard in the same area of the parts house. I had one of those blow the regulator part clear out of it on an ot rig but caught it before I had a fire. Then I read a day or so later that it was common that those cheap regulators failed.

As far as those sediment bowl/water traps that "Old Skool" rodders are all in love with that because they add the "Old look" unless they have the filter in them like the one in post 34 they are just a water trap like on most older farm tractors I have ever worked on. No filter, no filtration. You can buy new gaskets and even the whole unit at Ford New Holland dealers or Massey Ferguson dealers and Tractor supply. fuel sediment bowl at Tractor Supply Co. or other farm equipment places. They normally don't leak on their own though.

Last but not least, install the fire extinguisher in the hot rod where you frigging remember it is and can reach it. My mom had A ford Econoline camper van that I drove a lot that had one under the front drivers captain's chair and when I had an engine fire when I pulled into work at the airport I couldn't remmember where it was but the fire department at the airport was next to the parking lot and I ran over and beat on their door and they came out and put the fire out but the van was totaled then. Luckily she had good insurance on it and it paid off more than she was thinking of asking for the van.

 

I used to acquire "in date" extinguishers from trade in equipment when the cities forgot to remove them (always took them out so the vandals wouldn't discharge them all over the interior). Rotated them out of my garage as I got new ones. Now that I'm retired I have been monitoring the ones I have to see the pressure is good and the powder is free flowing. But I wonder if that is good enough? Also how long should you haul the 2.5 lb ones in your car before replacing them.

 

You're saying I'm supposed to leave my keys in an obvious location in case my house starts on fire so that the firefighters (whose job it is to extinguish the fire) will save my vehicle?

I agree that sounds nice, but I'm not buying that it's a firefighters priority (unless we're talking purely about getting that fuel source out of the house, and saving the vehicle is a bonus).

 

My not be period correct but I would think someone could install a gas leak detector like the ones used on boats.
https://www.bing.com/shop/productpa...se=true&cvid=A554B7F9BE4942B4A2B2A1D30EB2DFB8

 

A friend of mine said that he was getting a gas smell from under his hood but couldn't find it. The car was an early GTO. I took a look, and the glass filter was leaking from both ends. They were small leaks and were hard to see. The gas was evaporating quickly so there was no gas showing under the car. I found it by putting my hand on the filter with the car not running with the key on. The electric pump was going, and the filter was leaking. I may be a little too cautious, but when it comes to the fuel, I change my filters and any hoses every season. I use the one-piece plastic ones you can see through.

 

I used same type of foam filter on a Harley years ago . One good belch and scorched pants. That piece of thrash returned to where it belonged the trash can .

 

Purple K only on my pipeline truck and plant I worked in . To be truly honest if you want to shut down Hell , take 2 , 900 lb Purple K units and it’s OVER no flame

 

Would that work in an engine compartment of a car like it would in the enclosed engine compartment of a boat? I don't think it would.

 

This was about a month ago

 

my worst nightmare, i hope everything turns out okay. I always keep a fire extinguisher under my seat just in case the ethanol finally decides to eat away the fuel line. right now all it's good for is rolling under the brake pedal