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Displaced Texan

PSA: don’t be stupid and catch your house on fire.

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Had an interesting day.....with a couple of good lessons resulting for ALL of us to keep in mind. 

I was cutting the grass this afternoon, and saw a big plume of smoke coming from my neighbors house. I grabbed my fire extingusher, ran across the street while calling 911. The fire was on the side of the house, was not sure what started it, but I was able to put it out before the FD arrived on scene. Another neighbor showed up with his garden hose and soaked it down pretty good, reducing the chance for a reflash, while awaiting the FD. The fire caught the siding on the outside of the house, and  a curtain on the inside of the house on fire, causing limited damage to one of the bedrooms inside. Damage to siding, wall, and framework outside. All of the fire was contained before the FD arrived. Once they got here, we got out of the way and let them sort the rest of it out. 

It was determined that one of my neighbors has thrown a lit cigarette butt into a trash can that was against the house. The fire chief told me that 2 more minutes, and my neighbors would have had a VERY bad day, instead of a pretty crappy one. We got it under control before it became an extremely ugly situation. 

I’m not telling you this story to pat myself on the back, I’m telling you because there are some good lessons learned here, and I don’t want this kind of crap happening to my ‘online family’ members. Please pay attention. 

The lessons here are 4 fold. 

1) The most obvious....don’t be stupid and throw lit cigarette butts into a trash can. This is just moronic. Don’t do that. 

2). Have an ABC fire extingusher...for EVERY floor of your house. LEARN how to use them. Most FD’s I am aware of will teach you how to use them properly!! Check the damn things annually, because they DO expire. Replace them when they are expired or if they don’t indicate a full charge. If you don’t have at least one in your house ( the fire ‘victims’ AND a few of my surrounding neighbors, do not have ANY), you are an idiot. No excuse for this, IMHO. The damn things are cheap enough and are widely available. 

3). When someone screams LOUDLY that your house is on fire, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! Don’t stand on your porch with a stupid look on your face. Don’t run back in the house to get your bloody phone. GET CLEAR if you are not going to engage the fire with an extinguisher. 

4) Most important lesson. When seconds count, help is minutes away. I am NOT knocking the FD, PD, or EMS, they can’t be everywhere at once...in any emergency, it takes time for them to respond. It took them about 9 minutes to get a fire truck on scene, and they are about 4 blocks away. Again, not knocking ANY of the first responders, I am just making the point it takes time to respond. Be prepared!!

 

I am a bit cheesed off with the 911 operator, who was more concerned about getting my name, addess, and phone number before she dispatched the FD. Get the first responders on the way first, then worry about my damn name, and contact information. 

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Might I add that dry chemical extinguishers may read okay for pressure but you should turn them upside down and tap the bottom with a rubber mallet or the heel of a shoe to ensure the powder is not caked in the bottom. you will feel the difference when you shake the extinguisher. At least once a year if not twice.

Great job DT!:)

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Good work.  Good job being prepared and looking out for your neighbor!

And I thought I was having a bad day with a small leak at my mother inlaw's rental property....

Stuff like this really makes you realize how quickly your life can change in just a few moments.

Thank God they had a neighbor like you and the other fellow who rushed into action!  Again, well done!

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1 hour ago, JohnnyB said:

Might I add that dry chemical extinguishers may read okay for pressure but you should turn them upside down and tap the bottom with a rubber mallet or the heel of a shoe to ensure the powder is not caked in the bottom. you will feel the difference when you shake the extinguisher. At least once a year if not twice.

Excellent tip! I did not know this. 

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25 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

shit....i was outside at home most of the day, and didn't hear any sirens.........

The only sirens I heard were from Somerdale FD, who (I believe)showed up before Stratford. I wasn’t paying attention to which FD showed up first, but I remember a white fire truck arriving first. Stratford has red trucks. 

Stratford PD showed up within 4-5 mins. About what I had expected. 

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Good job.  

Good advice.

I have multiple cans of the Tundra fire extinguisher in the house. It's a aerosol type spray can. Have a few on each level of house. My wife And kids Know they are not to be used to stay and fight a fire they are to be used to get out of the house. The plastic wrap has been removed, cap is on but loosely.  

I let my kids spray it in the backyard so they know how to use it. 

Last year my wife ended up using it . I was at work and she was grilling outside on the deck.  Had a serious flare-up. Don't have pics. Lol. She said it worked great. Lol. 

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2 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Excellent tip! I did not know this. 

Yes. The powder gets caked really hard! You will feel when it comes loose. The last thing you want is for a bunch of air to come out with no chemical.

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1 hour ago, Displaced Texan said:

Have an ABC fire extingusher...for EVERY floor of your house. LEARN how to use them. Most FD’s I am aware of will teach you how to use them properly!!

That's the BEST advice EVERYONE should listen to. Fire extinguishers are an extremely cheap insurance policy to save your house. Every corner of the house and every floor should have multiple units. And, know how to use them, even if it means going out in the backyard and discharging one on a campfire, just to experience it.

1 hour ago, Displaced Texan said:

Most important lesson. When seconds count, help is minutes away. I am NOT knocking the FD, PD, or EMS, they can’t be everywhere at once...in any emergency, it takes time for them to respond.

Once again, just like cops, when SECONDS count, firefighters are only MINUTES away

In many cases, a fire can DOUBLE in size in 30 seconds. A few seconds do matter when battling a fire.

As a former firefighter, I have a complete plan on how I'll fight any fire at my house. It's not even a question if it's negotiable. My wife knows, this is the plan. She gets out, grabs the dog, and calls 911. I'll be fighting the fire until the fire department arrives.

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While we are on the subject about fire extinguishers, if any of you have Kiddie brand, they had a MAJOR recall last November. Out of my all extinguishers, 6 were involved in the recall. Kiddie sent me new ones FREE and gave me the return box to send back the recalled ones.

VERY IMPORTANT, here is the link, check your extinguishers to see if they are in the recall.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/support/product-alerts/recall-kidde-fire-extinguisher/

https://www.consumerreports.org/fire-extinguishers/kidde-fire-extinguisher-recall/

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3 minutes ago, Sniper22 said:

While we are on the subject about fire extinguishers, if any of you have Kiddie brand, they had a MAJOR recall last November. Out of my all extinguishers, 6 were involved in the recall. Kiddie sent me new ones FREE and gave me the return box to send back the recalled ones.

VERY IMPORTANT, here is the link, check your extinguishers to see if they are in the recall.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/support/product-alerts/recall-kidde-fire-extinguisher/

https://www.consumerreports.org/fire-extinguishers/kidde-fire-extinguisher-recall/

Yep, thanks for pointing this out to everyone. I had a couple of my units replaced under the recall earlier this year. 

Check your extingushers, folks!

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While we are on the topic of fire safety in the home, I hope none of you guys have this hanging from your ceilings:

 

plantation-house.jpg

 

If you took the battery out of a chirping smoke detector, and left it hanging like this empty, bend over right now and kick yourself in the ass.

This is another cheap insurance policy to save your house and family. If any of you have this situation, go out TOMORROW and buy new smoke and CO2 detectors..... STAT...

Also, everyone else needs to go out and buy a pack of 9 volt and AA batteries, and replace the batteries in EVERY detector in your house NOW!!!  This should be done in the Spring and FALL, and guess what, it's the Spring right now. Go DO IT!

Isn't your family, pets and house worth the price of a pack of batteries?

 

 

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14 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

2). Have an ABC fire extingusher...for EVERY floor of your house.

The Day I Almost Burned my Parent's House Down

January 1980 something, my parents were in pre-snowbird mode, vacationing in Florida.  Left to fend for myself, I decided to make pan fried seasoned small white potatoes and something else that didn't catch fire.  Besides almost burning my parent's house down, I don't remember much else from that night. 

I wasn't paying attention and let the oil get too hot.  When I threw in the canned potatoes without draining the water fully.The oil instantly atomized and caused a giant  fireball.  The fireball was large enough that it singed my hair.  I turned off the gas but the oil in the frying pan was still burning  and the cabinets had caught fire from the intense blast.  The sink was too far away for the squirty thing to reach so I went for the fire extinguisher........ all the way down in the basement.

In my father's infinite wisdom, he believed that next to the furnace was a good place to put the one and only extinguisher in the house.  So I made a mad dash down two flights of stairs and back up.  Pulled the pin and put out the fire.  Tthat yellow stuff in ABC extinguishers works great.  Fortunately I was in good shape back then and made the round trip in less than a minute.  I doubt I could do the same today, and I know for a fact my father would not have been able to do it.

The cabinets were solid maple and my mom had painted them in some trendy antique finish in the late 70's.  It took just short of an hour to clean up all the yellow stuff.  It is very sticky and gets everywhere and is a real pita to clean up, but it's far better than a pile of ash that used to be a home.  Lucky for me I put out the fire before any real damage was done.  The paint had only blistered a little and I was able to scrub off the burnt paint with steel wool.  There was only a small spot that was kinda noticeable but it was under the cabinet.

If we didn't have an extinguisher in the house, the fire would have certainly been worse, probably a disaster.  If we had one in the kitchen it would have been a lot less worse. There is only a small window of opportunity to put out a fire before it becomes too big to put out yourself.  Unless you can run like a cheetah (through fire), having an extinguisher on every  floor would be prudent.

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Good advice on the ABC. Have one near (but not at) likely sources of fire. Kitchen, fireplaces, dryers.  Note that current code is you must have a 2a:10BC permanently mounted on the wall within 10feet of the kitchen.  

As for 911, I know Burlington county will route the call to the fire desk while getting caller information.  Just because they had you on the line doesn’t mean they weren’t dispatching the FD at the same time.  They update units once they sign on radio. 

The addage is true, when seconds count help is minutes away. Even if the FD has a crew in station, sitting in the truck, with the bay doors open. It will still take minutes to get there.  If you want to scare the piss out of yourself, go watch the fire growth video (I think from the sprinkler orgs).  Plastic burns faster and hotter and everything is plastic these days.  

Smoke detectors expire. Usually good for at most 10 years. Less if dusty. Most new ones come with 10-year batteries now too.  If you live in an old house that doesn’t have them hardwired, consider more expensive wireless ones.  That way they all go off whe one trips (can you hear your basement from your bedroom?). 

If you have a long driveway and want to be awesome, measure 1000 feet down your driveway from your house and mark it with a post. Notify FD so they can note it in their GIS. Most engines carry 1000’ of large hose. This way they can lay in from the marker and have the next in engine fill in. Better than laying in from the street and coming up short. 

Dont be dumb. If your house is on fire get you and your family out. Let the guys with gear, water put it out. Let insurance company rebuild. People have died (incl a Bordentown FF) after going back in their house. 

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3 hours ago, Sniper22 said:

While we are on the subject about fire extinguishers, if any of you have Kiddie brand, they had a MAJOR recall last November. Out of my all extinguishers, 6 were involved in the recall. Kiddie sent me new ones FREE and gave me the return box to send back the recalled ones.

VERY IMPORTANT, here is the link, check your extinguishers to see if they are in the recall.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/support/product-alerts/recall-kidde-fire-extinguisher/

https://www.consumerreports.org/fire-extinguishers/kidde-fire-extinguisher-recall/

Will have to look into this, i have a few that are likely affected.

My parents didn't have a single one in the house until i moved back in and brought 2 or 3 with me from my house. I was surprised, to say the least. I Keep the little marine/portable ones in my vehicles, as well. Never know when you'll stumble on a car fire or, worse, an accident with an entrapped person and potential fire.. Should be standard practice but for some reason people just don't think it to be necessary.

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3 hours ago, Sniper22 said:

While we are on the subject about fire extinguishers, if any of you have Kiddie brand, they had a MAJOR recall last November. Out of my all extinguishers, 6 were involved in the recall. Kiddie sent me new ones FREE and gave me the return box to send back the recalled ones.

VERY IMPORTANT, here is the link, check your extinguishers to see if they are in the recall.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/support/product-alerts/recall-kidde-fire-extinguisher/

https://www.consumerreports.org/fire-extinguishers/kidde-fire-extinguisher-recall/

Checked after seeing this.  5 affected, 1 maybe, 1 unknown (think not), and 1 different brand.

 

Thanks for posting (everyone)!

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That is a great example of the dangers of the Chinese Made Garbage most people buy today. Notice the bellowing black smoke. Those Chinese Made Cabinets anyone bought to save money the smoke will kill you well before the fire being they are filled with Chemicals and made of inferior woods they try and pass off as American Maple and Cherry. Just another reason to buy American.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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9 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

The Day I Almost Burned my Parent's House Down

January 1980 something, my parents were in pre-snowbird mode, vacationing in Florida.  Left to fend for myself, I decided to make pan fried seasoned small white potatoes and something else that didn't catch fire.  Besides almost burning my parent's house down, I don't remember much else from that night. 

I wasn't paying attention and let the oil get too hot.  When I threw in the canned potatoes without draining the water fully.The oil instantly atomized and caused a giant  fireball.  The fireball was large enough that it singed my hair.  I turned off the gas but the oil in the frying pan was still burning  and the cabinets had caught fire from the intense blast.  The sink was too far away for the squirty thing to reach so I went for the fire extinguisher........ all the way down in the basement.

In my father's infinite wisdom, he believed that next to the furnace was a good place to put the one and only extinguisher in the house.  So I made a mad dash down two flights of stairs and back up.  Pulled the pin and put out the fire.  Tthat yellow stuff in ABC extinguishers works great.  Fortunately I was in good shape back then and made the round trip in less than a minute.  I doubt I could do the same today, and I know for a fact my father would not have been able to do it.

The cabinets were solid maple and my mom had painted them in some trendy antique finish in the late 70's.  It took just short of an hour to clean up all the yellow stuff.  It is very sticky and gets everywhere and is a real pita to clean up, but it's far better than a pile of ash that used to be a home.  Lucky for me I put out the fire before any real damage was done.  The paint had only blistered a little and I was able to scrub off the burnt paint with steel wool.  There was only a small spot that was kinda noticeable but it was under the cabinet.

If we didn't have an extinguisher in the house, the fire would have certainly been worse, probably a disaster.  If we had one in the kitchen it would have been a lot less worse. There is only a small window of opportunity to put out a fire before it becomes too big to put out yourself.  Unless you can run like a cheetah (through fire), having an extinguisher on every  floor would be prudent.

Good story, thanks for sharing that. One thing I’d like to point out is that you are lucky the ‘squirty thing’ from the sink would not reach the fire. Spraying water on a grease fire is not a good thing. A dry chem extinguisher like you used is the best solution. 

I am not a trained firefighter (other than Navy Submarine firefighting training, which is a bit unique and specialized), but I know the basics. Maybe some experienced FF’s can chine in here like @Sniper22 will share more infomation and experience with the rest of us. 

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If you don’t have an ABC, Best bet for grease fires that are contained to the pan is throw the lid, or a wet towel over it to smother it. Squirting water will just spray more burning grease over the backsplash and cabinets.  

Water would work for any extension to the cabinets once the grease is contained but at that point you’re going to need the FD anyway. 

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Don’t just discard those old/partly depressurized/questionable fire extinguishers.    After you have bought new ones, find a safe place to build fires outdoors and have everyone in your household practice putting them out with the old ones. 

The first time you need a fire extinguisher should not be the first time you use one!

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2 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Good story, thanks for sharing that. One thing I’d like to point out is that you are lucky the ‘squirty thing’ from the sink would not reach the fire. Spraying water on a grease fire is not a good thing. A dry chem extinguisher like you used is the best solution. 

Yep. spraying water on a grease fire = not good. Another thing to know, some of the ABC extinguishers are high pressure, and depending on how close you are to the grease fire, can actually spread the grease while putting it out.

I keep both a ABC ( Monoammonium Phosphate ) and a RESSP (Sodium Bicarb) in my kitchen. The RESSP is low pressure, high volume, which works better on a stove or grease fire.

 

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