"Wife! The stove is on fire- Quick, put it out!" My wife gave me a strange look. "The stove is on fire. Move quickly before it spreads!" She stares, frozen on the couch as she tries to figure out what I'm telling her. Suddenly, comprehension dawns and jumps up off the couch and goes to the kitchen. "What do you do first? Hurry, do something!"
"I reach over and turn off the burners." She starts reaching for the knobs.
"Stop! The flames are too hot. You'll burn your arms!"
"Where is the baking soda?", she asks me.
"I don't know. I don't think we have any." She shakes her hands in frustration as panic starts to set in. Then, I see her training start to take over. She's the Head Crew Trainer at McDonald's.
"Where's the fire extinguisher?" She asks. "Where is the fire extinguisher?" Her eyes sweep the kitchen. Finally, they settle on the red canister that's been sitting on the counter for the past year and a half. She grabs it up and aims the nozzle at the stove top and grins. "How'd I do?" she asked. The fire was imaginary. It was a drill, something that took her completely by surprise and something we've never done before. Not bad, considering the circumstances. Not good enough, if it had been a real fire. We both have work to do.
On this site, we spend a lot of time discussing issues, tactics and gear for carrying a concealed weapon and for defending our homes. But, as a friend often brings up, rightfully so, during these discussions, is the fact little time is spent discussing fire extinguishers. "How many proponents of CCW have fire extinguishers in their homes? In their vehicles?"
The reality is, the average American is far more likely to face loss of property, life and limb from fire than they are from random violence. I would bet, the general population is poorly equipped and trained to deal with sudden fires. A few years ago, my wife and I were victims of the all too typical kitchen fire when a pot of oil erupted into flames. Luckily, Fawn quickly found some baking powder and extinguished it, but not before there was a significant amount of smoke damage throughout the place, upstairs and downstairs. Looking at the damage later, it was chilling to realize that if Fawn hadn't acted as quickly and decisively as she did, the flames would have spread and burned the building to the ground. We now keep a fire extinguisher in our home.
What brought this up was stumbling across a video in which fire extinguishers are tested by a woman who is not a fire fighter or someone who is well trained or informed about their operation or use. She brings up points I hadn't thought about before.
If the security of our persons and our homes is important, it's even more important to ensure we have the means and the mindset to fight a fire. If you don't have a fire extinguisher, get one. Get at least two, in case the first one runs out. Take time to familiarize yourself with it's operation and how to use it effectively. Learn how to weigh and inspect your extinguishers. Train your children in what to do. If you can arrange it, actually fire off an extinguisher.
Get an extinguisher for your car. If your car catches fire, you may need the extinguisher to get out before getting trapped by the flames.
Here is the video. It raises some good points. I'm no expert on the subject. I ask that those who are, those with training and experience, please enlighten us.
Thanks
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Originally Posted by Paul D
