I've had a fire extinguisher in the car for years, but the only times I've used it was twice on other people's cars, both times nipping the blaze in the bud before it spread from the engine compartment to the rest of the car (One case was a petrol leak, the other a shorted battery which melted and ignited the wiring loom.) However, in both cases I ended up £25 or so out of pocket, since I didn't think either before or after the event to ask if the owner would reimburse me for a replacement extinguisher.
Isn't it time that some form of fire suppression was compulsory in new cars? Perhaps similar to the 'Graviner'system used on 'planes. Does any car manufacturer fit anything like this?
P.
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My plastic hydraulic oil reserve tank is above exhaust manifold as the origonal design is left hand drive. I know this oil is particularly flammable so I always carry an extinguisher by my drivers seat. Turbo versions had a recall for a reflector to be fitted.
In the late '80's there was a head on outside the hotel I was running. The stolen car driver ran off, the other guy was trapped. Smoke was poring from the engine. I ran and got the fire extinguisher and eased up the bonnet and put out the fire.
The local rag put it on the front page, and the company who serviced the extinguishers read it, and refilled it free of charge.
Wish I could remember the company name bless'em.
I agree fire systems on cars are overdue.
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There is a bit of a todo in the rallying world about this issue at the moment.
The old systems have been banned because of risk of global warming, ozone layer what have you.
The new type of extingishers allowed are just utterly hopeless. On an event the other weekend one poor guy poured the contents of his own system and that of four other cars onto an engine fire but his car was still burnt out. He commented that the extingishers had less effect than a couple of buckets of water.
The comment made was how much noxious stuff has gone up because of this car burning out compared to what has been saved by banning the old style extinguishant.
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On the last two occasions when I have used an extinguisher on someone else's car I have obtained from them their insurance details, obtained an incident number from the fire brigade (as they had already been called in both cases), and written to the insurers. In both cases I got a cheque by return covering my costs, and on one occasion an extra £10 added as a thank-you for saving them from a more serious claim. Might be more tricky if the brigade were not called, but still worth a try.
Regards, Adam
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I've had a fire extinguisher in the car for years, but the only times I've used it was twice on other people's cars, both times nipping the blaze in the bud before it spread from the engine compartment to the rest of the car
Fire seems to spread from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment terribly easily.
Is there not a case for the bulkhead to be designed with fire resisting properties, thus giving a greater time for rescue?
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But with an engine fire, many cars would be written off, anyway due to the high costs involved in repairing the damage
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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