Safety Items

[PancakeBill]

In looking over safety items we carry, I thought maybe it might be a good topic.

We carry fire extinguishers and a first aid kit. Not much else. Been seeing ads for fire blankets, and after having an oven fire at home, put out by a fire extinguisher and cleanup after, makes me consider buying a couple.

A couple containers of dehydrated water flasks, Some Camp foods like from Mountain House, but what else?
Ideas? What do you carry?

 

[Tom]

In looking over safety items we carry, I thought maybe it might be a good topic.

Good topic Bill. I bought a couple of fire blankets, one for home and one for our RV. A concern is that I might not instantly recall where they are when I need them. My preference would be to have them hanging visibly in the respective kitchen, but I was out-voted.

FWIW some years ago I was watching TV at home and heard Chris say "Tom". I knew instantly from her low, concerned tone that something was wrong. Got up and turned around to see flames from a stove-top fire.

 

[DonTom]

but I was out-voted.

Does that mean your wife gets two votes but you only get one?

 

[PancakeBill]

Vote distribution is usually 1.1 to 1. Slim majority, but it works.

 

[PancakeBill]

Nice thing about a fire blanket is you don’t need to recharge it after use.

 

[Tom]

Nice thing about a fire blanket is you don’t need to recharge it after use.

You also don't need instruction on the correct choice and use of a fire extinguisher. This was Chris having instruction from a couple of active firefighters who were members of our boat club..

 

[UTTransplant]

We bought one of those fire blankets for the motorhome. It sits in its nice little bag on a shelf next to the stove. It is pretty inconspicuous and thin, but I had to have it where it was obvious. A fire is pretty stressful (!!!), and the last thing you need is to have to think “Where is the fire blanket?”

 

[gwinger]

A fire blanket can also be used as a cover to escape. There are larger ones made that you can wrap yourself in. Keep one near the bed. Put it on and get the **** out.

 

[NY_Dutch]

It was my wife that picked out the locations for our fire blankets in the house and the motorhome. They're all readily visible hanging on the walls, although she did have me wrap the motorhome kitchen one in a white plastic bag so it's a little less bright. It's still visible what it is through the bag, and the bottom of the bag is open so the straps can easily be pulled.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Just be careful that you don't keep the fire blanket too close to where a fire may occur. You don't want to have to reach through a fire on the stove to get the fire blanket on the wall next to the stove. It's safer turning you back on the fire and getting the blanket off the opposite wall.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Just be careful that you don't keep the fire blanket too close to where a fire may occur. You don't want to have to reach through a fire on the stove to get the fire blanket on the wall next to the stove. It's safer turning you back on the fire and getting the blanket off the opposite wall.

Good point! My "kitchen" blanket is actually mounted on the wall behind the dinette. The one in the house is by the doorway.

 

[RayIN]

Does that mean your wife gets two votes but you only get one?

My theory; any man that thinks he's the boss in the relationship is delusional.

 

[gwinger]

Good point! My "kitchen" blanket is actually mounted on the wall behind the dinette. The one in the house is by the doorway.

Ours is beside the door across from the stove. If the fire is bad enough, it's out the door we go.
The one in our house is the same way. About 10 feet from the stove.
One other thing to think about is discharging a fire extinguisher in a small enclosed area.

 

[NY_Dutch]

My theory; any man that thinks he's the boss in the relationship is delusional.

My wife and I agreed early on in our marriage, that there was no "boss", just two "committee members" with equal say. In 61-1/2 years of marriage, we rarely had any disagreements that went to the "agree to disagree" stage. And we never went to bed angry. I miss her a lot...

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Last year when I had a fire in the house there was a fire extinguisher close enough to have gotten soot on it. So the notion of having extinguishers somewhat removed from potential ignition sources is valid. Another observation DW made is there wasn't an extinguisher for the RV galley. But there was - she thought it was something else though.

So lesson here is to ensure the wrong one won't be grabbed, which could have quite serious consequences.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[gwinger]

Fire extinguishers should never be stored out of site, especially with other containers which may confuse matters.
Those small single use ones should come with a mount of some sort, not stored in the pantry.

 

[Larry N.]

So lesson here is to ensure the wrong one won't be grabbed, which could have quite serious consequences.

Communication helps...

 

[gwinger]

Communication helps...

But, in a panic situation, it's easy to grab the wrong can. Fire extinguishers should not be stored out of site inside a cabinet.
When I worked at our local hospital, we had Fire Fighter show up twice a year showing employees the proper way to use the extinguishers hands on. You would be amazed at how many tried to remove the safety pin while squeezing the handle.
They stressed that they should be readily available in plain sight.

 

[RayIN]

Fire extinguishers should never be stored out of site, especially with other containers which may confuse matters.
Those small single use ones should come with a mount of some sort, not stored in the pantry.

Those should not be named "fire extinguishers"! They are too small to for that, they are designed to suppress a fire long enough to escape, nothing more. Mack usually held a class especially for women, so they could get familiar with using these small "fire extinguishers", so they could knock down the fire and get away to safety.
Mack the Fire Guy was strong on that. Mack McCoy passed in 2023 but his teachings live yet today.

 

[Tom]

How about safety issues in respect of BBQs? Here's one BBQ episode that happened to me at home. In this case, I doubt a small fire extinguisher would have helped.