Is it good practice to put a fire extinguisher in your car?
Putting a fire extinguisher in your car is one of those questions that never seem to have a definitive answer.
Two camps of people exist here: those that want one in their car, and those that don’t.
For the former, a fire extinguisher in their car could mean the difference between life and death, and they recommend it to anyone willing to listen.
But others say a small fire extinguisher in the car won’t make a difference.
Car fires are usually so violent that the vehicle will be consumed even with a fire extinguisher on hand, they say, and increasing the size of the fire extinguisher to fight the larger fire just won’t be practical.
If I were to buy a car fire extinguisher, what type should it be?
This 2kg fire extinguisher should be small enough to fit in your car’s passenger compartment. Link here.
A standard ABC fire extinguisher should be good enough for any car fires.
As the name suggests, ABC is a dry chemical extinguishing agent used on class A, B and C fires.
Class A fires are caused by commonly-found materials like paper, wood and plastic.
Class B fires are caused by the burning of liquids like oil, propane and gas.
Class C fires, on the other hand, are electrical fires, and can cause fires in the other classes.
All the above apply to a car fire, which fits into any one of the three classes.
Where should I mount it?
Typically, fire extinguishers in cars are mounted in one of two places which have the most space and are unobtrusive.
The first place is in the passenger footwell, while the second place is in the boot.
Depending on your space requirements, you can choose either one of those places to mount your extinguisher.
Be very sure to mount it properly if you do so, because having a 2kg extinguisher rolling around your car is not ideal.
At the end of the day, an extinguisher in your car is no doubt useful, but takes up a good amount of space.
It’s entirely up to you to have one if it gives you a peace of mind.
You might be the hero that someone needs!
