Extinguishers and fire blankets.

[ProfJohnL]

The typical fire extinguisher most caravanners may have would be totally useless in the context of a fire that has taken hold, but it might be enough to stop the initial combustion if detected soon enough. But then you have to also consider the type of extinguisher, is it suitable for the type of fuel involved.

On top of that unless you have ether received training in how to choose and use a fire extinguisher, there is the danger that in some situations the incorrect type or usage can exacerbate tho conflagration..

I still stick to the idea that evacuation is the first and most important action, and then only attempting to tackle the fire if you know what you are doing and it is safe to do so. Sadly in many cases you may not have time to reach the fire before it goes critical, or you wont have the right extinguisher for the job or one that's big enough to extinguish the fire.

 

[Buckman]

The typical fire extinguisher most caravanners may have would be totally useless in the context of a fire that has taken hold, but it might be enough to stop the initial combustion if detected soon enough. But then you have to also consider the type of extinguisher, is it suitable for the type of fuel involved.

On top of that unless you have ether received training in how to choose and use a fire extinguisher, there is the danger that in some situations the incorrect type or usage can exacerbate tho conflagration..

I still stick to the idea that evacuation is the first and most important action, and then only attempting to tackle the fire if you know what you are doing and it is safe to do so. Sadly in many cases you may not have time to reach the fire before it goes critical, or you wont have the right extinguisher for the job or one that's big enough to extinguish the fire.

Are you speaking from experience as that must have been nasty?

 

[ProfJohnL]

...
On top of that unless you have ether received training in how to choose and use a fire extinguisher, there is the danger that in some situations the incorrect type or usage can exacerbate tho conflagration...

Are you speaking from experience as that must have been nasty?

No not from personal experience, but passing on the knowledge learned from a fire awareness course that employers asked us to go on.

 

[Craigyoung]

I couldn't Imagine by the time your up & realise there's a fire and the rush for people with kids & scramble around to get the kids awake in the middle of the night and get them out by the time you go back there'll be nothing left to tackle .

 

[Anseo]

I couldn't Imagine by the time your up & realise there's a fire and the rush for people with kids & scramble around to get the kids awake in the middle of the night and get them out by the time you go back there'll be nothing left to tackle .

Very mutch with Craig here, our mindset should be that the fire will occur in the night and when everyone is in deep sleep and allowing for the added influences of alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal drugs - makes no difference in this case.

We should plan for the worst possible scenario, it concentrates the mind.

I was involved in a serious car accident and I grabbed a child and literally threw him out of a wound down window (door was jammed), I did not really care if the child was mildly injured as there was an imperative need to immediately free another elderly and trapped passenger who could not assist his own escape.

At night, in the dark, smoke, waking from sleep, kids and family to save, likely panic, perhaps unresponsive individuals, people with mobility or sensory difficulties etc. etc. etc.

Think of the worst case scenario and prepare for that, sobering but effective.

I once met parents of a 15 year old who had sensory impairment and other mentl health issues, the 15 year old narrowly survived a fire incident; as a consequence his parents only ever used less readily combustible materials for his clothing, synthetics were substituted for natural wool where possible, leather shoes - no synthetic footwear etc.

How much attention do we give to fleece pyjamas and blankets and other clothing and accessories? sorry, don't wish to be alarmist............but worth thinking about perhaps, especially where children are involved.

Possibly the most important safety thing you can do is 'prepare a plan' for the worst case scenario, few people do this, it takes very little time to prepare and not a lot longer to inform (and preferably practice) everyone of what to do in the event of fire, adjust the plan for your different surroundings, home or caravan or boat or even hotel.

 

[YorkieF]

I use a JE-50 fire extinguisher and apparently is for ALL fires. Luckily, I haven't had to use it and is quite small so it fits just by the door.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I use a JE-50 fire extinguisher and apparently is for ALL fires. Luckily, I haven't had to use it and is quite small so it fits just by the door.

:huh: I hope you never have to use it! :dry:

 

[Gafferbill]

For me the important issue is to have a working fire alarm.

The temptation in a caravan is to remove the battery..........you effectively have a fire alarm in a kitchen area in a caravan and this leads to unwanted activations.
This can be annoying .......however removing the battery is not a wise solution.

PS ........I do always carry a fire extinguisher and blanket .

 

[Buckman]

I couldn't Imagine by the time your up & realise there's a fire and the rush for people with kids & scramble around to get the kids awake in the middle of the night and get them out by the time you go back there'll be nothing left to tackle .

Very mutch with Craig here, our mindset should be that the fire will occur in the night and when everyone is in deep sleep and allowing for the added influences of alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal drugs - makes no difference in this case.

We should plan for the worst possible scenario, it concentrates the mind.

I was involved in a serious car accident and I grabbed a child and literally threw him out of a wound down window (door was jammed), I did not really care if the child was mildly injured as there was an imperative need to immediately free another elderly and trapped passenger who could not assist his own escape.

At night, in the dark, smoke, waking from sleep, kids and family to save, likely panic, perhaps unresponsive individuals, people with mobility or sensory difficulties etc. etc. etc.

Think of the worst case scenario and prepare for that, sobering but effective.

I once met parents of a 15 year old who had sensory impairment and other mentl health issues, the 15 year old narrowly survived a fire incident; as a consequence his parents only ever used less readily combustible materials for his clothing, synthetics were substituted for natural wool where possible, leather shoes - no synthetic footwear etc.

How much attention do we give to fleece pyjamas and blankets and other clothing and accessories? sorry, don't wish to be alarmist............but worth thinking about perhaps, especially where children are involved.

Possibly the most important safety thing you can do is 'prepare a plan' for the worst case scenario, few people do this, it takes very little time to prepare and not a lot longer to inform (and preferably practice) everyone of what to do in the event of fire, adjust the plan for your different surroundings, home or caravan or boat or even hotel.

Why at night? A fire could occur at any time however how many people check their smoke alarm regularly? This should alert you before any fire is detected. Why the rush to get out the door when many caravan windows are more than large enough to get out safely and quickly.
Our extinguisher is there in case it is a small fire that could be extinguished quickly and safely and not for use if the fire has taken hold. Also it can possibly be used to stop the fire spreading once it has taken hold of the caravan i.e. grass catching fire or sparks endangering other caravans.

 

[Hutch]

I like the style of the JE-50. I will probably fit one near the door as yours, and keep , a 2 kg Dry powder outside, 1 kg Co2 by the bed " we have a side fixed bed " my main fire thoughts are Electric, going onto gas, the Alarms are good but the dogs are even better always a great alarm. , Test the Alarms every time out and change batteries every six months as I do in the house, Also Have fire extinguishers in the house upstairs and down. .

 

[Raywood]

I couldn't Imagine by the time your up & realise there's a fire and the rush for people with kids & scramble around to get the kids awake in the middle of the night and get them out by the time you go back there'll be nothing left to tackle .

Very mutch with Craig here, our mindset should be that the fire will occur in the night and when everyone is in deep sleep and allowing for the added influences of alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal drugs - makes no difference in this case.

We should plan for the worst possible scenario, it concentrates the mind.

I was involved in a serious car accident and I grabbed a child and literally threw him out of a wound down window (door was jammed), I did not really care if the child was mildly injured as there was an imperative need to immediately free another elderly and trapped passenger who could not assist his own escape.

At night, in the dark, smoke, waking from sleep, kids and family to save, likely panic, perhaps unresponsive individuals, people with mobility or sensory difficulties etc. etc. etc.

Think of the worst case scenario and prepare for that, sobering but effective.

I once met parents of a 15 year old who had sensory impairment and other mentl health issues, the 15 year old narrowly survived a fire incident; as a consequence his parents only ever used less readily combustible materials for his clothing, synthetics were substituted for natural wool where possible, leather shoes - no synthetic footwear etc.

How much attention do we give to fleece pyjamas and blankets and other clothing and accessories? sorry, don't wish to be alarmist............but worth thinking about perhaps, especially where children are involved.

Possibly the most important safety thing you can do is 'prepare a plan' for the worst case scenario, few people do this, it takes very little time to prepare and not a lot longer to inform (and preferably practice) everyone of what to do in the event of fire, adjust the plan for your different surroundings, home or caravan or boat or even hotel.

Why at night? A fire could occur at any time however how many people check their smoke alarm regularly? This should alert you before any fire is detected. Why the rush to get out the door when many caravan windows are more than large enough to get out safely and quickly.
Our extinguisher is there in case it is a small fire that could be extinguished quickly and safely and not for use if the fire has taken hold. Also it can possibly be used to stop the fire spreading once it has taken hold of the caravan i.e. grass catching fire or sparks endangering other caravans.

I generally agree with what has been written but the windows on our caravan have four stiff catches so if there is a fire the door may still be quicker. possibly it depends on where you and the fire are.

 

[Buckman]

I generally agree with what has been written but the windows on our caravan have four stiff catches so if there is a fire the door may still be quicker. possibly it depends on where you and the fire are.

Hopefully in bed? LOL! :cheer:

 

[otherclive]

This is an old thread and RNG are an Indian fire protection company but cannot find any online UK outlet so I will stick to Kidde.

 

[JezzerB]

Smoke alarms tested on a regular basis in the mornings when everybody puts the toasters on on the campsites as you can hear them going off on a morning !!

For me the important issue is to have a working fire alarm.

The temptation in a caravan is to remove the battery..........you effectively have a fire alarm in a kitchen area in a caravan and this leads to unwanted activations.
This can be annoying .......however removing the battery is not a wise solution.

Learnt very quickly to bin the ionising type smoke alarm and bought and always fit an optical smoke alarm-instantly no false alarms with said toaster.

 

[Damian]

This old topic was resurrected by a spammer with links to his business, which is not allowed under Forum rules.

 

[Mike]

We were once made to turn the van around to make the hitch accessible, should the 'van catch fire. The scenario being; the alarm is raised, the site owners contacted, they attend (after ??? minutes), hitch the blazing unit up, and tow it to a safe place.
How they kept a serious face when i put this to them, i don't know.

The real reason they made us turn the van around, was because it 'messed up' the look of the line, us being the only ones in it not wanting to stare at a line of 40 foot conifers. I pointed out another unit over the way that was parked transverse with his hitch in a hedge, to be told .....hes a regular!

 

[chrisn7]

I installed a modern 'water mist' type extinguisher as these can be used on any type of fire. There also a little larger than the toy 1kg powder types, which may need agitation from time to time due to powder settlement.

 

[Mike]

I installed a modern 'water mist' type extinguisher as these can be used on any type of fire.

Even on electrical fires??

 

[otherclive]

Even on electrical fires??

You can use water mist in vicinity of electrical non sealed equipment up to 1000v. It is not designed for use on electrical fires but can be used for Class A fires as well as oils, fuels etc. But as all things the user should know how to use it to combat specific fires.

It was first investigated following the Manchester air disaster as so many died in what should have been a more survivable crash. In parallel passenger smoke hoods were investigated. The concept of water mist was to use the latent heat of relatively small quantity of high pressure water to cool the passenger compartment and prevent combustion and draw down smoke, hence aiding evacuation. At the time I had a programme looking at improving the fire safety vid submarines and warships. I attended a demonstration of water mist at an RAF base where an old VC10 was used. I sat on the seats adjacent to the wing with full open fuel tanks sat atop the wing. The mist system was activated and then the open fuel pans ignited. You could hardly feel any heat despite there being no fuselage between me and the blazing fuel pans only feet away. I then exited and in less than 30 seconds or so the seat I had been using had been destroyed.
The system was very impressive but airlines would not pursue it given its additional weight. They declined smoke hood too as they don’t wish to remind passengers of “ in the unlikely event” situations.

The Royal Navy however did develop it via trials at Shoeburyness ranges where it was shown to extinguish a high pressure hydraulic oil fire very rapidly. It entered service some years back initially in submarines. To my knowledge it hasn’t been used in anger, but neither have many other fire systems.

 

[Mike]

You can use water mist in vicinity of electrical non sealed equipment up to 1000v. It is not designed for use on electrical fires

I still cant work out if the answer is a yes or a no? In fairness, i am unlikely to be acquiring one of these extinguishers. But when its suggested they can be used any fire, i reckoned it needed clarifying, given its a water type.

 

[otherclive]

I still cant work out if the answer is a yes or a no? In fairness, i am unlikely to be acquiring one of these extinguishers. But when its suggested they can be used any fire, i reckoned it needed clarifying, given its a water type.

Unless you have a 1000 volt system in the caravan you will be okay and not get electrocuted!!! But the nature of water mist or water fog systems means the will not extinguish an electrical fire. But they will cool the area and reduce the likelihood of adjacent combustible material burning. So for example if your caravan power supply unit went bonkers and overheated causing surrounding material to combust water mist could extinguish or dampen that combustion. It would cool the PSU but if it is still getting power it will continue to be a source of internal heat, but a heat source that water mist would help in controlling. But realistically unless you can tackle a caravan fire very quickly after inception you are really best advised to get people out, have cuppa with a neighbour until FRS arrive then make friends with your trusted insurer. Fires are wicked and the speed which they can incapacitate or kill you should not be underestimated.

 

[Mike]

I think you would have to be sat in the unit the very moment the tea towel caught light on the hob to have any chance of 'fighting' any fire. Otherwise, as suggested, just look for some sausages to throw on the embers as you argue the toss with 'ClaimsR'Us'

 

[Mel]

There has been some research, prompted by the tragedy in which the Philpott children died, into why children don’t wake up to the beeping of a conventional smoke alarm. They found that the best thing for waking children was a higher pitched voice. You can now get smoke alarms that have a combination of beeps and voice. Adults wake to beeping alone. I would hope that children are never sleeping alone in a caravan, but it is an interesting finding.
mel

 

[Hutch]

There has been some research, prompted by the tragedy in which the Philpott children died, into why children don’t wake up to the beeping of a conventional smoke alarm. They found that the best thing for waking children was a higher pitched voice. You can now get smoke alarms that have a combination of beeps and voice. Adults wake to beeping alone. I would hope that children are never sleeping alone in a caravan, but it is an interesting finding.
mel

Thank Mel any chance of more information.
That why emergency services use sirens etc, due to the Doppler effect. The pitch changes with the distance.

 

[Mike]

I would say an ice-cream van tune, at any level, would wake up any kid. My grand-daughters can hear one at 1000 paces in a hurricane!