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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

retag the fire extinguisher

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/10/2007 : 18:13:27

One of the things on the list for the new boat survey was to retag the fire extinguishers. Where do you get that done?

D. Wolff
DPO C25 Hull 401
Currently Sailing "Champagne and Ripple" 1982 O'day 30

Chief Measurer 2002-2006
Vice-commodore 2007

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mhartong
Navigator

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USA
152 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2007 : 18:30:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Duane Wolff
 One of the things on the list for the new boat survey was to retag the fire extinguishers. Where do you get that done?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I would check in your yellow pages under "Fire Exinguishers" or "Fire Protection Equipment and Supplies" to get local companies that sell/service/recharge extinguishers. If that doesn't turn up any likely sources, a quick call to your local Fire Marshall should be sufficent to point you in the direction of who provides that service locally.

Depending on the age of the equipment, and the type of extinguisher, it sometimes is just cheaper ( though not always as environmently friendly

) to procure new ones than try to have them serviced.

Regards

Mark

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Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 00:21:36

It is expensive. Only large companies who deal with OSHA and have lots of fire extinguishers do it. You can probably buy two new ones for the price of certifying the old ones. Years ago I had one refilled for my house and when I got the bill I left it. Later it showed up at a friends house. I recognized it because I had a Donate Blood sticker on it. Turns out his uncle had the company.

Edited by - Ben - FL on 05/11/2007 00:26:03

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 07:25:45

Just go down to the Evil Empire and buy some new ones--I don't think the kind they sell are rechargeable. (And if you really need them, you can't have too many.)

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 07:44:15

This things are a rather nice size. I'll see what the cost is - I'm sure there is a deal somewhere to be had.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 08:19:07

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Duane Wolff
 ...I'm sure there is a deal somewhere to be had.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
As I recall, the process involves discharging (to check the valve), refilling, and recharging--not just "retagging". Good luck!

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dblitz
Navigator

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240 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 09:45:01

Can't begin to even think about the consequences of a fire on a boat especially since extinguishers are empty in about 1 second.
I had occasion to use about 20 of them once when a florescent ballast shorted and ignited a stack of fabrics in a whse. It was all we could do to run getting every extinguisher on the floor because (of course) the sprinklers failed. That's how long it takes for a full extinguisher to be empty, about a second.
So on a boat, if we ever have to use one, keep a clear evacuation path to safety cause it'll just take a few seconds to know if it was of any use.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 10:02:56

You don't want a fire on a fiberglass boat...
http://www.ultimatechase.com/Video_Library/Fires/Boat_Fire_Stream.htm

And here's one for the Darwin Awards...
http://www.guzer.com/videos/fire_boat_practice.php

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 10:13:50

Remember, gasoline doesn't burn. It EXPLODES! What a freaking idiot! And to think he is/was safety trainer.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 05/13/2007 : 02:06:14

What a stupid thing to do, especially for a fireman. We trained under controlled situations (I used to be in the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection), and it was still scary. I was also on fire control teams in the US Navy.

However, while I was in the USN, at one command we did something nearly equally stupid by spreading gasoline around inside a Conex box (shipping container), and lighting it on fire. The guy who lit it nearly got blown out of the container doorway, and we were lucky that it didn't blow out the doors on the container or worse. The fire itself only took a couple of minutes to put out, but Don (the lighter) lost a fair amount of hair in the process, and several of us would have been hurt if we hadn't had fire gear on when the fireball engulfed us.

Even though I wasn't in command of the drill, in retrospect if we wanted a nice fire to put out, we should have used diesel instead. Much-much higher flashpoint, much safer to deal with. And we had 10,000 gallons of it within 50 yards of where we set the Conex box on fire. Oh, and the gasoline tank for the facility? It was about 10 yards away from the box. We were lucky there were no casualties from that.

I recently saw Don on a cable special where they were sinking an aircraft carrier (Lexington?) to be an artificial reef, so I guess he survived his career in the USN.

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Jarrett Anderson
1st Mate

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61 Posts

Response Posted - 05/14/2007 : 12:23:27

You only have to service and tag an extinguisher if you do boat charters, run a business from your boat, or have employees working on the boat. It is a good idea to check the pressure gauge and expellent monthly. Make sure that the pressure needle is in the green range on the gauge. To check the expellent turn the extinguisher over an tap on the side until you hear the product moving around inside. The product will tamp down and get hard from the boat bouncing around. If there is one make sure the hose is in good shape.

To use remember PASS:
P. Pull the pin
A. Aim at the base of the fire
S. Squeeze the handle
S. Sweep from side to side in short bursts

A small extinguisher can put out a lot of fire if used correctly.

As a Training Officer myself I cringe when I see flammable liquids being used in fire training. I have seen this video many times and hope that firefighters all over the world learn from it. With all due respect to the officer in the video he was lucky to go home to his family that day.

Be safe, have a plan to protect your family and friends on your boat an in your home.

Jarrett _/)

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