Is This Retired Firefighter's Claim About Putting Out a Car Fire Correct?

[u/AffableEffable]

Hi, I ran into this discussion on twitter, and most people in the comments were really mad at the ELBainter person (who claims to be a retired firefighter). I know absolutely nothing about any of this, so I was curious: are they right and the people there are just stupid, the opposite, or something in between?

[u/[deleted]]

EMS and fire are the only two professions I’ve seen first hand where people do all this stuff to get the people to their houses for help and as soon as they arrive the first thing the people do is… tell them everything they are doing wrong. To a certain extent this extends to social media posts.

I don’t think any professional would tell you if you can safely put out a fire to not do it. That’s why they sell consumer fire extinguishers. But there are so many hazards people don’t realize. And the people putting it out aren’t thinking clearly. They just want to save their car, without realizing it’s already a loss.

So no he isn’t wrong. And if for nothing else it should be discouraged from the simple stand point of keeping people safe and not being so worried about material possessions over their own lives.

[u/NoSwimmers45 → u/[deleted]]

The problem is most of the general public has no idea how to “safely put out a fire.” Exhibit A is this fire. Person on the left is spraying their dry chemical all over the hood reaching ZERO fire. Person on the right is spraying their dry chemical all over the radiator reaching ZERO fire. See that bright glow under the car between left person’s feet? That’s the seat of the fire where dry chemical MIGHT slow it down a little but not save the car.

Car fires are incredibly toxic and even one good gulp of smoke can mess you up for the rest of your life. Stuff can be replaced people can’t. “Consumer fire extinguishers” are meant to control tiny fires right at the beginning. They will do NOTHING to stop a well involved engine compartment fire.

[u/[deleted] → u/NoSwimmers45]

Exactly. I didn’t want to get too long winded. But you said it better.

[u/KoalaGrunt0311 → u/NoSwimmers45]

Consumer fire extinguishers” are meant to control tiny fires right at the beginning.

When I worked at a hospital, we had quarterly fire response training which included a fire extinguisher simulator. It's a muscle memory training thing to use a fire extinguisher properly-- spraying at the base of the flame and working back as the fire gets suffocated, not just spraying into it expecting the foam to work.

Even then, our safety guy's instructions were that the expected individual response was for small fires, like just a trash can. If it was larger than that, the expectation was to close the door of the room and focus on evacuation through the fire doors to the opposite unit and then out, if necessary, after further instructions from emergency personnel.

[u/frisbeeicarus23 → u/NoSwimmers45]

People think magic happens when they use the extinguisher. The same way people think they get a doctor with magic medicine to their house when they call 911.