*Fire Extinguisher Safety*
Accidental Discharge
By: TexasOk
3 September 2009

I have carried a fire extinguisher in my personal and work vehicles for more than 20 years and have found it to be a necessary tool more than once.

While returning home from our vacation and the Rubicon 2009 IC, my wife and I pulled into a RV campground for the night. I decided to reorganize the bags and containers in our vehicle and in the process of removing a clothes bag from the cargo area I heard a sound that I will not soon forget as the air was quickly filled with a yellow haze. Yes, I had just discharged an 8 lb dry chemical fire extinguisher in the back of a 2004 GMC Yukon full of camping gear.

The fire extinguisher plastic pin was secured with yellow tape that failed under the weight of the clothes bag causing the pin tip to break off resulting in the accidental discharge of the fire extinguisher.

Lesson learned from this event, Buy a fire extinguisher with steel handles and a steel pin.Keep it within easy reach, but protected from other items that might be placed around it.

Total cost of this FNV. 1 discharged fire extinguisher, Wife laughing and running for the camera in order to take pictures (otherwise my self respect) $3.00 of quarters at a local carwash using a vacuum cleaner, and several hours of detailed cleaning.

End result, a lesson learned the hard way, how long it actually takes to transform a vehicle that looks like part of a crime scene that had been dusted for finger prints back into its original condition and just being happy that this had not happened while driving in the heavy I-40 traffic.
TexasOK



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