Car Fire Extinguisher – Preliminary Remedy For Car Fires
A car fire is currently one common cause of fire-related property damage in the US today. About one motor vehicle in every two minutes catches a fire in the country. In the United Kingdom, the incidence of accidental fires are slowly lessening yet arson cases are on the rise. Most of car fire incidences in the UK are deliberate since joyriders tend to set stolen cars on fire. Furthermore, abandoned cars are usually set on fire by vandals. It is no surprise that two cars out of every registered one thousand cars catch fire each year in the United Kingdom.
In order to avoid the occurrences of these car fires, it is wise to keep a car fire extinguisher in your car. A motor vehicle is a fire-magnet since it has so many hazardous elements in it which can catch and cause fire. It contains many types of flammable fuel like gasoline and oil. Aside from this, it also contains solid combustibles like the car upholstery and detonators in airbag systems. A car’s electrical wiring is a major source of ignition in the cases of short circuits. Leakages of fuel to hot exhaust system is another source of fire in the car. Another common cause of car fires is faulty fuel lines which leads to fuel leaks. Car batteries are also fire hazards since the hydrogen gas resulting from the electrolysis reaction ignites swiftly in a fire which can lead to an explosive release of battery acid.
Even electric and hybrid cars aren’t exceptions to the risk because these cards have large batteries composed of either NiMH, Li-ion, or lead-acid. Aside from the possibility of an electric shock, these batteries can explode or leak. Because of a good possibility of this from happening, these cars have built-in safety features to safeguard it from fire such as temperature sensors, smoke detectors, and overcharge protection. Yet even with these safety features, it is still important to have a car fire extinguisher nearby so that a preliminary stop is applied to the fire. Often, passengers inside the car have the opportunity to get out of the car in the event of a fire because a bulk of the fire is initially contained in the engine compartment. The passenger compartment is protected from the engine through a firewall.
In the event of a car fire, there are some steps you should follow. If your vehicle is moving slowly during a fire, politely signal and pull over immediately. Then, shut off the engine, go out of the vehicle and try to put out the fire using a fire extinguisher. Keep onlookers away and warn oncoming traffic. Notify emergency services as soon as possible and if the fire is beyond your control, stay far from it. Car fires are dangerous because of the toxic fumes that are emitted by it. Toxic inhalation is the most common form of fire-related death.
The use of a fire extinguisher on a car fire should be as such by discharging it through the gap created by releasing the hood. Opening the hood of the car should be avoided because it can make the fire bigger.
