I’m going to double down on Miguel’s post Since the Left likes to burn stuff (you included)..
Sometimes, when I have a moment of doubt, I ask myself the question “What would Clint Smith do?”
Fortunately for me, there is a Clint Smith YouTube video for everything.
This is great advice.
I remember when I was a Boy Scout, back when they were still Boy Scouts and could do dangerous shit like use knives and axes and build fires, we went to the Coral Gables Fire Department and the firefighters set a small fire and each of us in turn got to use a fire extinguisher and put it out.
There are two things I remember most about that:
Using a fire extinguisher in real life is not like the movies
- The fire is harder to put out than you think, it takes more than a quick blast.
- The fire extinguisher runs empty fast.
The take away with fire extinguishers is just like rifle mags, get the biggest, highest capacity one that you can pick up and run with, get as many as possible.
In Alabama every year, we have a week in which there is no sales tax on emergency preparedness items. The hardware stores then run a sale on those items, and then I get 5% off with my Lowes card.
I bought four of THE BIG ONES.
One in my kitchen pantry, which also covers the living room. One next to my night stand in my bed room. One by the door to the garage above my utility sink. One on the other end of my garage near my ammo storage.
I also have two of the little ones, one next to the stove and the other on the mantle above the fireplace.
When the boy is old enough, I’ll spend the $20 on a fire extinguisher and we’ll make some s’mores in the fire pit, then he’ll put it out with the fire extinguisher.
“Suitcases full of shit without the handle” Priceless.
I am gonna make a notation to my young fella. He is young and strong, some of us ain’t. Get a good extinguisher that you can manipulate. Those with injuries or ailments to back, arms or hands may not be able to use a big hunk of steel.
In an earlier life my job required me to be on a fire brigade. Not like a real fireman, just (hopefully) hold the fire at bay until the pros got there. Part of the training was using fire extinguishers, and hose stations to put out small fires, and yes it’s harder than it looks. Emphasize that fire extinguishers are for small fires. If a trash can is on fire, or pot of oil on the stove ignites you have a very few minutes to put out the blaze before it grows, fire extinguishers are great for this. If a room is on fire, evacuate immediately, call fire department and thank God for your survival. On a large fire, even the biggest extinguisher is like pissing in the wind.
Using a fire extinguisher in real life is not like the movies
1. The fire is harder to put out than you think, it takes more than a quick blast.
2. The fire extinguisher runs empty fast.
I’d like to add a third bit of experience/advice:
Extinguishers have more recoil than you might think. Make sure you have a good grip or you might waste part of your initial blast on ‘recoil’.
(First time I tripped an extinguisher the nozzle almost shot out of my hand.)
Also, every time I’ve had to endure ‘training’ I’m told to “Aim for the base of the fire”. To me this is somewhat ambiguous. I like to tell people “Aim for the FUEL, not the FLAME.”
I always wonder about propane tanker trucks with a fire extinguisher strapped to the side. It would seem that a fire on such a vehicle is a reason to see how far you can run at top speed — not an occasion for messing around with fire extinguishers.
You DO have one in your vehicle now dont you??