Fire Extinguisher

[Barry Townsend]

Can anyone tell me why so many sevens carry a fire extinguisher. Mine has one which was there when I purchased it which I thought at the time was a bit odd. Are they prone to catching fire? On my RN the petrol tank is handily placed just above and behind the engine for starters and a very hot exhaust is conveniently right under the carburettor. Perhaps I've answered my own question!

[Robert Leigh]

Long ago I was driving up a long hill on a hot day in my vintage fabric saloon, and the engine seemed not to be at its bset so I stopped to investigate. The float chamber of the SU carburettor had loosened slightly and petrol was dripping straight onto the hot exhaust, giving a flash of flame with each drip. Left much longer, and having a gravity tank, I could have been driving a ball of flames. I did not have a fire extinguisher at the time, but I realised the possible value of having one.
Robert Leigh

[Jays]

I read somewhere that too much grease on the starter lever can cause a fire. Not sure how true that is but I carry an extinguisher just in case!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I carry a fire extinguisher in every car I own, Vintage and modern.

The better question might be "why shouldn't you carry an extinguisher"?

[Charles P]

This is a question that would only been asked by someone who's been lucky enough never to experience a fire.
When you have, the question tends to be "why is the extinguisher so small?"

Charles

[Chris KC]

In the car and also in the workshop please.

Nearest I've come in a Seven was when a battery cable finally chafed through its insulation on the edge of a body panel, which naturally occurred directly below my dripping petrol tap. The resulting firework display was a bit of a surprise to say the least.

Nearest I've come in the workshop was last year when doing a spot of MIG welding. Kneeling on the floor I was engrossed in my work and enjoying the warmth of the summer sun on my legs, till I realised I wasn't sitting in the sun but had set my trousies on fire with weld spatter...

There have sadly been a few cars and an owner or two written off by car and garage fires, it's better to be prepared.

[bob46320]

Reminds me of a story.

A young driver went for his test in a Trojan delivery van. One seat for the driver, and an orange box over the battery beside him. The examiner said "Where do I sit" - reply, on the box ?
After a few choise words the examiner got in and the test proceeded. After some time, the examiner said "pull in here" and the youth said, "Can't do that, zebra crossing" and continued driving.
Again the examiner said "pull in here" and the youth said, "Can't do that, its on a bend" (Youth thinking this would be a way for the examiner to catch him out).
With urgency, the examiner said "STOP, My seat is on fire" . Apparently it was because the wire strapping of the box was shorting out the battery.

[Steve Jones]

Charles' comment, above, explains things perfectly. I've had two fires in Sevens, both electrical and not needing the services of an extinguisher but that doesn't mean I don't carry one in my cars. The first was the 2011 VSCC Herefordshire Trial. With one to go Malcolm and I had cleaned every hill over the two days of the trial. As we left our penultimate hill we started to realise we might be on for a good result if our last hill could be a good one. However, as we drove towards the gate to re-join the main road the car filled up with smoke. The Master Switch is located in a very handy place and Malcolm reached over and turned it off. Transpired that the power lead from the switch panel to the rear mounted fuel pump had shorted out burning all the insulation off along its full length. The copper wire was still there, however, so we wrapped the entire length in gaffer tape and carried on. We didn't clean our last hill - nobody did but 3 crews outscored us there by 1 point so we ended 4th overall.

Fast forward to the VSCC Welsh Trial last year. On the Saturday morning, driving up the steep hill past Cwm Whitton Farm on our way over from Presteigne to scrutineering at Little Stretton my passenger (not Malcolm this time) uttered those dreaded words 'this things pulling well this morning'! Immediately the car coughed, misfired and stopped with smoke and an impressive shower of sparks from under the dashboard. The switch panel had become loose letting the panel drop and one of the connections shorted out. Again, Master Switch quickly off. This time the insulation to the LT side of the coil was burned away. Same repair as before and off we went on our way.

Steve

[Charles P]

Measham Rally, January, North Yorkshire, 1am, Alvis Speed 20 saloon. Professionally and expensively maintained.

After a lot of wiggly stuff around the back lanes (near Malcolm's) we come up to a more major road.
The driver says to me:
"I think I must have been slipping the clutch a bit - I can smell it"
Me, navigating:
"No, that's a sweet smell, clutches are acrid "
Driver accelerates away on the bigger road.
30 seconds later looks in the mirror:
"Bloody hell, we're on fire."
I look around and see a trail of flames running out behind us.
We quickly stop, grab the 1 litre extinguisher and locate the fire. It's in the engine bay, on the scuttle and is flaming away. Driver administers the extinguisher, aiming through the louvres. Unfortunately he has the orientation 180 degrees out and intially blasts himself in the face. Extinguisher turned around and emptied into the fire, which thankfully goes out. We then open the bonnet to locate the source and the fresh, cold Yorkshire air rekindles the fire (we'd taken the oxygen away with the extinguisher but the heat was still there, so the fire had come back to life).
Our extinguisher was empty and the car was still on fire! The combination of a large bottle of Fanta orange and the useful proximity of 5" of snow everywhere saved our bacon - and the car. But it took lots of snow, repeatedly piled on the source of the fire to put it out.
The next 3 hours, stuck on the top of the moors in the middle of a January night waiting for suitable recovery were probably the coldest I've ever been since school. Sitting in the car was even colder than walking up and down the road.

Hence my enthusiasm for a decent, accessible fire extinguisher.

Charles

[Ruairidh Dunford]

The reason I carry one in every car stems from an incident my father had at the first (or perhaps second) Doune Rally. During the driving test (whilst braking hard) the, rather full, tank of fuel in the Chummy emptied out of the filler and over the running engine.

My father ripped the ligaments in his ankle leaping from the (still moving and now on fire) car whilst a friend calmly put out the flames with a small extinguisher he had in his Seven.

Carry one, always.