How many fire extinguishers do you carry

[B47]

I haven't seen any discussion (that I recall anyway) regarding how many portable fire extinguishers people carry in their RV's.

My Silverback 5W came with what I guess is the standard white one that is mounted next to the entry/exit door. I puchased two more portable ones (red ones) and mounted one in the right rear compartment that is next to my outdoor kitchen (I open the compartment when I am using the grill for easy access if needed) and mounted the other red one in my TV.

I am sorry that I don't know the ratings for these, but I am sure that you know the ones I am speaking of.

I haven't checked if my state requires more than the one the RV came with or not, but I feel comfortable with having three if I need to fight a fire.

What do you carry?

[Yukon Don]

Just a pair of small ones; one mounted just inside the door of my A-frame, the other in my Jeep.
I suppose you can't have too many of the things if you've got the room though.

[Herk7769]

I carry 4 fire extinguishers.

1 small HALON fire extinguisher in the truck
1 2.5 pound dry chemical at the camper door
1 2.5 pound dry chemical in the bedroom
1 10 pound dry chemical outside the camper door next to the steps.

The big one outside is for a good Samaritan to use to break in and rescue us or to use on some one else's camper to try to rescue them.

The ones inside are for us to fight our way out.

[B47]

Originally Posted by herk7769

I carry 4 fire extinguishers.

1 small HALON fire extinguisher in the truck
1 2.5 pound dry chemical at the camper door
1 2.5 pound dry chemical in the bedroom
1 10 pound dry chemical outside the camper door next to the steps.

The big one outside is for a good Samaritan to use to break in and rescue us or to use on some one else's camper to try to rescue them.

The ones inside are for us to fight our way out.

I like the idea of placing one in the bedroom and I never thought about having a "good Samaritan" one - very good idea and hope none of them are ever required to be used.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by B47

I like the idea of placing one in the bedroom and I never thought about having a "good Samaritan" one - very good idea and hope none of them are ever required to be used.

The bedroom also has a large flashlight installed next to it (fresh batteries every trip). I used a PVC pipe union as a flashlight "mount." My Maglite drops right into it and one screw holds it to the wall.

I remounted the fire extinguisher lower. It was up that high to clear the long flashlight originally (old photo). Now I have a 2 cell Maglite and the extinguisher is lower to allow the DW or I to grab both without getting off our knees and still be able to crawl out of the camper.

[TexasBBQ]

Originally Posted by B47

I like the idea of placing one in the bedroom and I never thought about having a "good Samaritan" one - very good idea and hope none of them are ever required to be used.

X2

I've added it to my list for the weekend shopping.

[crasher]

If you have good smoke detectors, with good batteries, you shouldn't need a fire extinguisher to "fight your way out". Mine go off when I use the toaster, so I'm not worried about waking up with plenty of time to get out.

Think the law requires at least one in an RV. You should watch the expiry date on it and keep it current, as they do have a shelf life. On all my RV's, it's mounted near the entry door. That must be a requirement too. I'm not sure, in an emergency, you could get it out of the clippy thing, so I probably wouldn't worry about trying to put out a fire just to save property.

[Phil57]

Check out Mac the fire guy at macthefireguy.com .
Lots of good info.

[vasnipe]

Only have the one by the door for now, looking to hang another in the coach for just in case. Fire fighting school in the Navy made a believer out of me on these things. Instructor turned on jet fuel to a fog spray nozzle and lit it off with a torch. About a 10 foot diameter fireball, hot as hades. He took a standard shipboard 18 lb extinguisher and lit it off. Made three sweeps at the base of the fireball; shhwtt, shhwtt, shhwtt, and out it went. Turned the fuel off and said "Do you understand now?"

[youroo]

3 Foam EX,truck,trailer ent.door,and bedroom.If you travel with a dry chem. EX and have NOT turned it up to loosen the powder you might be in for a Surprise when needed! Dry chem. is Death to Electronics,and Hell to clean up! Just saying! Youroo!!

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

If you have good smoke detectors, with good batteries, you shouldn't need a fire extinguisher to "fight your way out". Mine go off when I use the toaster, so I'm not worried about waking up with plenty of time to get out.

Think the law requires at least one in an RV. You should watch the expiry date on it and keep it current, as they do have a shelf life. On all my RV's, it's mounted near the entry door. That must be a requirement too. I'm not sure, in an emergency, you could get it out of the clippy thing, so I probably wouldn't worry about trying to put out a fire just to save property.

While your logic is flawless, and the odds of escaping a fire in a box made of thin plywood and Styrofoam are small, I would rather have a fire extinguisher handy.

Just sayin...

[crasher]

Well, since we are thinking about death and destruction...

I would suppose that if you had a generator fire or and electrical fire inside your RV - these usually start with smoldering and your fire alarms would go off. Waking out of a dead sleep, you may respond with your wits about you and just get out.

A propane explosion is another likely scenario. Not sure if you'd really have any warning or would even wake up alive. People may think this is the most likely scenario to happen, but I disagree. More likely you will just have a propane leak and loose all your fuel. The gas can all escape and never hit an ignition source. Explosions are quite rare. I saw one once - an RV was rear-ended on the highway and burst into flames- supposedly from gasoline rupture - but the fire soon engulfed the lp tanks and boom!

Another scenario would be a fire started outside. Say a campfire or lantern turned over, or a neighbor who did something stupid. Not sure you may wake up from that, but if you did and got out that fire extinguisher would be handy in trying to save other people who hadn't got up yet. In that case, those teeny extinguishers that come with your RV wouldn't really do much. I've thought about buying a full size extinguisher to set out by the campfire on those trips where we build a wood fire.

[Phil57]

I realized that in my previous post the web site for Mac was incorrect. I also know that he sells product and do not want to be a salesman for him. There is just a lot of good info there. I believe there have been videos posted here that are also on his web page. www.macthefireguy.com

[FreedomTracker]

IMHO, more is better... can't have too many fire extinguishers, esp if any are out of date.

Example:
About a month ago our large gas BBQ grill caught on fire at the house. It was so hot you couldn't touch it... therefore the fire extinguisher inside the grill door was not accessable. Of the 3 we had inside the house only 1 actually worked (2 were out of date).

Fortunantly, we were able to put out the fire and did not have an explosion, but not before it ruined the grill and left black smoke on the side of our house.

At least might want to consider having another extinguisher located in the tow vehicle.

Be prepared and be safe!

[B47]

Originally Posted by FreedomTracker

More is better... can't have too many fire extinguishers, esp if any are out of date.

Example:
About a month ago our large gas BBQ grill caught on fire at the house. It was so hot you couldn't touch it... therefore the fire extinguisher inside the grill door was not accessable. Of the 3 we had inside the house only 1 actually worked (2 were out of date).

Fortunantly, we were able to put out the fire and did not have an explosion, but not before it ruined the grill and left black smoke on the side of our house.

At least might want to consider having another extinguisher located in the tow vehicle.

Be prepared and be safe!

Good point about your FE not being accessable when your grill caught fire. I believe I will take my FE that is in a compartment next to our outdoor kitchen grill out and put it on the picnic table before using the grill next time.

As I stated before, I do also have a FE in our TV for a total of 3.

[MotocrossCamper]

Originally Posted by FreedomTracker

IMHO, more is better... can't have too many fire extinguishers, esp if any are out of date.

Example:
About a month ago our large gas BBQ grill caught on fire at the house. It was so hot you couldn't touch it... therefore the fire extinguisher inside the grill door was not accessable. Of the 3 we had inside the house only 1 actually worked (2 were out of date).

Fortunantly, we were able to put out the fire and did not have an explosion, but not before it ruined the grill and left black smoke on the side of our house.

At least might want to consider having another extinguisher located in the tow vehicle.

Be prepared and be safe!

This just happen to me a week ago cooking wings for the football game! It took 20 seconds and flames were completely surrounding the propane tank. Had it not been for my multiple extinguishers around the house it would have been a bad deal! I now have the black marks on the house also!

[Oakman]

Don’t take this post the wrong way but I have no intention of fighting a fire. I have one extinguisher and that one came with the RV. I test my smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector regularly so I count on them to wake me from a deep sleep. If the detector goes off in the middle of the night then I’m headed outside, not for an extinguisher.

I personally think the odds of escaping a fire in a plywood and Styrofoam trailer are excellent. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t own a trailer. The smoke detector in my fifth wheel is so sensitive that slightest amount of smoke will set it off. How many times have you read a post asking if the new furnace could be setting off the smoke detector? Try cooking a pizza in your oven without having the smoke detector going off.

I’ve been camping almost all of my life in Pop-ups, tents, and now fifth wheels, and I’ve yet to see a camper catch fire in a campground. Yes, I know it can happen and if it should happen to me, the wife and I are headed out the emergency window or door. As a matter of fact, if my trailer catches fire, I want the damage to be severe enough that the insurance company totals it so I can buy a new one. I would never trust a trailer that caught fire once and then was repaired, I’d have to sell it.

While there is a lot of great information available on the various RV Forums on the Internet, they all really smack of doom and gloom. This thread fits that category.

After reading some of the posts in this thread it obvious that some would benefit from taking a cooking class on how to use grills and deep fryers, not fighting fires.

[MotocrossCamper]

Originally Posted by Oakman

Don’t take this post the wrong way but I have no intention of fighting a fire. I have one extinguisher and that one came with the RV. I test my smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector regularly so I count on them to wake me from a deep sleep. If the detector goes off in the middle of the night then I’m headed outside, not for an extinguisher.

I personally think the odds of escaping a fire in a plywood and Styrofoam trailer are excellent. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t own a trailer. The smoke detector in my fifth wheel is so sensitive that slightest amount of smoke will set it off. How many times have you read a post asking if the new furnace could be setting off the smoke detector? Try cooking a pizza in your oven without having the smoke detector going off.

I’ve been camping almost all of my life in Pop-ups, tents, and now fifth wheels, and I’ve yet to see a camper catch fire in a campground. Yes, I know it can happen and if it should happen to me, the wife and I are headed out the emergency window or door. As a matter of fact, if my trailer catches fire, I want the damage to be severe enough that the insurance company totals it so I can buy a new one. I would never trust a trailer that caught fire once and then was repaired, I’d have to sell it.

While there is a lot of great information available on the various RV Forums on the Internet, they all really smack of doom and gloom. This thread fits that category.

After reading some of the posts in this thread it obvious that some would benefit from taking a cooking class on how to use grills and deep fryers, not fighting fires.

Ever heard the saying "stuff happens"? Well your in a world of hurt when it comes your way. I don't need classes on anything thank you! 40 years old and never had one fire in my life but when I did I am happy to say I was prepared! As far as my grill, I can't fore see the burner blowing out the bottom on a 1 month old grill, but it did, and when it went it ignited everything in the grill in a matter of seconds. you go ahead and live in la la land where everything is sunshine and unicorn farts but as for me I will continue to stay prepared.

You probably shouldn't start a post by saying "don't take this the wrong way" and then end it with insulting people's intelligence.

[firelaw]

Good advise from all that replied to you. The one big thing that was missed is "get out" first, then decide what you can do and if its worth it against possible personal injury. As you can probably tell, I put out fires for a living and am passonate about your personal safety.

[SaskCampers]

We have 2 doors on our unit one from the LR and one from the bedroom, any fire and we are outta there. We do have extinguishers in the bedroom and LR though.