r/Firefighting • u/AffableEffable • May 17 '25

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

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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?

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u/psych4191 May 17 '25

tbh I didn't see anything he said that was inaccurate. If the fire involves any lithium then you're not putting that shit out especially with a little extinguisher. Even if it doesn't, you're still at risk of inhaling some shit you don't want anywhere near your lungs(or getting popped with boiling liquids). And he's 100% right about the car being totaled. Even if it's not "really" totaled, the insurance company is going to pretty much automatically claim it as such.

That being said, it's dope that the kid sprang into action and did something, that's pretty cool to know about a person. Even if it's in vain, you now know he's the type you can count on when shit hits the fan.