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/Jim_Cruz May 18 '25

Bruh... the most common chemical in extinguishers is sodium bicarbonate. At most, it'll be an irritant even if ingested.

You are right. You won't die from the things I mentioned... right away. They are cancerous and very much still harmful.

That being said... sodium bicarb irritation is your concern?

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u/Seanpat68 May 18 '25

Bruh listen to toxicologists not your gut feeling sodium bicarbonate can and does kill https://www.poison.org/articles/fire-extinguisher-safety-184 just because we use it as baking soda doesn’t mean it’s harmless

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u/Jim_Cruz May 19 '25

From your article...

"Deliberate inhalation or ingestion can cause serious symptoms such as pneumonia, seizures, irregular heartbeat, and kidney failure."

Definitely a concern but there's a reason why scbas are required for veh fires. The dangers are bad enough on ev fires that bunker gear needs extra washes to be deemed ok and is likely never going to be 100% clean.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21274476/

https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/electric-vehicle-fires-raise-cancer-risk-firefighters-communities

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u/Seanpat68 May 19 '25

The reason the gear requires multiple washes is because it has to have pfas in it per NFPA so you are washing your gear to the point of degradation. Also PFAS should not be your immediate concern it’s everywhere even in drinking water. Worry about the hydrochloric acid runoff that the batteries create that will eat through your boots and chemically burn

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u/Jim_Cruz May 19 '25

Here are more studies... I've already shared a study saying hazardous compounds are approx 9 times the acceptable risk levels (45% of which are definitely cancerous). These other studies state more of the same. Cobalt is even tested to be 24 times the safe limit.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36231742/

This one states how conventional extractors only clean about 85% of contaminants from gear. There are articles that recommend a field decon and even a second wash, but even then, heavier metals will still persist and cross contaminate.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28636458/