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/DDPJBL]

So... I'm not a firefighter, but I keep a fire extinguisher in my car because in my country it's considered "recommended" equipment (and in some surrounding countries like Poland, it's even mandatory). The narrative around here is that since car fires tend to progress faster than the fire department can get to you, you should have a fire extinguisher in the car to put the fire out as soon as it starts while it's still small because that is your only shot to avoid losing the whole car.

Since there are many people here that have actually put out burning cars, what should I be looking for to make the decision if it's still worth trying to put out or if it's too far gone? Because looking at this image where the flames seem to be coming out only from the engine area and the rest of the car is not on fire, I probably would have thought I have an OK chance of putting it out but apparently the consensus here is that there is no chance.

Does it ever happen that you guys arrive and there is a car that looks like it actually was on fire but someone has succeeded in putting it out with a fire extinguisher?

[u/Level9TraumaCenter → u/DDPJBL]

Since there are many people here that have actually put out burning cars, what should I be looking for to make the decision if it's still worth trying to put out or if it's too far gone?

I do not know how vehicle insurance works in Poland. Here in the United States, between the fire damage and the dry chem all over the place, an insurance adjuster is typically going to decide that repair and making the client "whole" again is not worth it, and total the vehicle. It then gets scrapped or (if salvageable) sent to auction for someone to deal with, chopped up for parts.

A fire extinguisher's primary use in a vehicle fire is if there is entrapment: control the fire and reduce spread until any people remaining in the vehicle can be extricated. However, extinguishers are usually too small, particularly those in vehicles. You won't have much additional time. Turn off the engine if safe to do so, keep the fuel pump from putting more gas under the hood.

I've never put one out with an extinguisher, but I've used them twice while on the ambulance to keep it under control to keep it from becoming a full-blown car-b-cue while an engine is en route. Just a little squirt now and again to knock it back.