Fuel storage regs and gas lanterns?

[Elliot]

So the posted regs say that they apply to any "combustible fuel" used for an art installation or "any other purpose" with no minimum before I'm required to have two 20 lb fire extinguishers on hand ... ...

I remember reading that also, but now I read that the requirement is one extinguisher with a "40-B" rating per 55 gallons of fuel, and they show a 5-gallon extinguisher as example. I do not know what the "40" rating means, but I suspect that there was a misunderstanding -- a 40 rating, not 40 pounds worth. And the sample unit shown costs only 50 or 60 bucks.

[Elliot]

Found it: The "40-B" means that a typical user should be able to put out 40 square feet of class B (flammable liquid) fire with it.

[Molotov]

The "A" rating is a measure of effectiveness on Class A fires such as paper, wood, cloth. The typical pressurized water fire extinguisher (which us firefighters refer to as the "silver bullet") has a 2A rating. This is the standard and for comparison, a 3A rating would be 50% more effective.

You can put out a lot of fire (like a whole room) with one of those water cans and if you can find a used one, it would be a valuable addition to any camp to deal with tent, awning, bedding, and burn barrel fires. You can refill them yourselves in camp if you have a couple of gallons of water and a source of 80-100 psi compressed air. A dollop of dish soap in the water increases the efficiency quite a bit as it serves as a wetting agent and penetrates deep into burning materials. Type A rated dry chemical extinguishing powder has an additive that makes it cling to hot surfaces but it doesn't penetrate and you can end up with a smoldering smoky mess.

Caution: A dry chemical fire extinguisher with only a BC rating does not perform well on fires involving solid fuels. It will not stick to burning vertical surfaces and will slide off. However, it is excellent for cooking fires, because if you use ABC dry chem it sticks to anything hot and is a beast to clean up.


Pressurized water fire extinguishers

[Molotov]

Elliot- I meant to mention you are spot on with the explanation of the 40B rating. However, if the burning fuel covers an area somewhat larger than the surface area of a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood (32 sq ft) an inexperienced user may have difficulty extinguishing the fire and having some left over to put out any reignition caused by hot metal or smoldering materials. If a person can afford it, they need to shop the ten pound extinguishers-some have as high as an 80B:C rating. It's all in the applicator nozzle pattern and the quality of the extinguishing powder.

The "C" rating merely means it is approved for use on energized electrical equipment. Although not rated for it, the water fire extinguisher is relatively safe to use on an up to 120 volt electrical fire as long as you are about 20 feet away. (They have a 30+ foot range. ) YMMV

I think having a 3A:40B:C dry chemical fire extinguisher and a water extinguisher in camp is a smart move. In ESD I have noticed when there is a fire everybody from adjacent camps comes a' runnin' with their fire extinguishers, and luckily there's usually not much fire left to put out when we arrive.

[Elliot]

Elliot- I meant to mention you are spot on with the explanation of the 40B rating. ..

I cannot take the credit -- it is right here on the BM website, under Fuel and Hazmat Storage. I'm cramming this stuff so I can send in a coherent placement application.

Say... did you work the Man-arson in 2007? I was mighty impressed with the BRCFD that night.

[Molotov]

No, the torching of the Man was before my time. The water trucks with the deck guns saved the day as I understand it. I was able to listen to the ESD dispatch radio tapes from that night-there wasn't any chaos-everybody knew their job.

Mad props to the crew that was able to rebuild the Man in time for the burn.

[Elliot]

Yeah, they were able to shoot water well higher than the Man, and put him out in "no time".