I saw some misinformation in the above threads and wanted to make sure that readers have clear and accurate information. The two most likely vehicle fires involve electrical (Class C) and flammable liquids (Class B). Class B fires also include plastics and rubber. As JoeyCJ55 has correctly pointed out, a multipurpose ABC extinguisher is a good choice as would be a BC extinguisher. The larger the extinguisher, the larger the fire it can extinguish. That is what the numbers before the letters mean on the extinguisher label. It is a tradoff between size and extinguishing capacity. The National Fire Protection Association recommends extinguishers in the 5 to 20 B:C range for small trucks.

I personnally have disposable 1A,10B:C extinguishers in my home and 5B:C extinguishers in each of my vehicles. The problem with refillable extinguishers is that they need to be serviced annually by a technician whereas the disposable types are maintenance-free other than an occasional shake and are cheap enough to replace every 5 years or so. For the annual service, look in the yellow pages under "Fire Protection". I would be very surprised if any fire departments serviced fire extingishers for the public. The powder in ABC extinguishers is the most corrosive and should be promptly and thorougly cleaned off after use.

If you can find a halon extinguisher, it would be very expensive, and no, halon is not toxic and you will not die if you are in a room when a halon system discharges. There are several halon-alternative gaseous agent extinguishers but they are very expensive and I have yet to see one on a shelf at a consumer store.

Inergen is used in total-flooding applications, such as computer rooms, and not in portable extinguishers. There is still nothing better than Halon, so, when cost is not an issue, you will find halon systems in applications such as race cars and airplane engines.

Dominique Dieken, P.E., CFPS
Jeeper (and Senior Fire Protection Engineer when I'm not in the Jeep)

1966 CJ5, Buick V6, Swampers, 1" susp lift, dual fuel pumps
1987 GW, 360, restored stock

Halon is not toxic but will kill you very rapidly. It replaces the oxygen in your lungs.

Great info!

Since Halon is the best for our use, why isn't it available
like it was a few years ago? K-Mart, nearly everyone sold them.
I still have a couple of old ones left over.

Is it the greenies that stopped it?
What class is CO2?

Sometimes the powder type causes more damage than the fire
would have.

Joey, ive bee away at college for a bit now too. This was the first time i checked the bbs in a few weeks, but i have to tell you that i had a little chuckle when i saw the post "fire safety by Joey..." hahaha God Bless and Merry Christmas, Tim

Joey already answered this but good question anyway. Halon has not been produced in several years now because it has been linked to the ozone layer depletion. Recycled halon is still available commercially but at a rather high price. The last I heard was around $30 per pound. Halon gas is not toxic nor does it deplete the oxygen content, thus allowing it to be used in normally occupied areas such as computer rooms. This is why halon was such a widely used fire suppression agent until the Montreal Protocol identified it as an ozone layer depleting agent in the early 1990's and mandated reduced production and a total production phaseout by 1/1/2000. There are other halon substitues out there now, such as Inergen and FM-200, which have similar characteristics as halon but none of them are as effective as halon. Halon should not be confused with CO2, which does achieve fire extinguishment by depleting the oxygen content and as such is fatal at the required concentrations for fire extinguishment (34-75%).

freshmen and soph i think, both from out side chicago.

BarrelRoll