carrying fire extinguisher in car that you can't drill?

Hi all,

I would like to carry a fire extinguisher in my car, just because of a) an incident in my past that has made me a little paranoid about fire and b) it would be just silly if I turned out to need one but didn't have one, seeing as I work for a company who specializes in life safety systems. Problem is, my usual ride is a company provided vehicle which is leased, so drilling holes in the floor is a no-no. I realize that this is not the *right* way to do it, but I was thinking of maybe taking the vehicle bracket for a regular 2.5lb extinguisher, gluing some hook side Velcro to the back of it, and then sticking it to the carpet (on the passenger side, of course, so that if it did break loose it wouldn't roll and interfere with the pedals.) Has anyone actually tried this, or is this just one of those things I'm going to have to find out for myself?

thanks,

Nate

Reply to
N8N
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I always tie mine to the inside of the trunk. I figure if its some one else thats on fire, i stop, get out, open the trunk and get it out. Same for my car. And if i get hit in the rear hard enough to smash the gas tank and it explodes, then i wont have to worry about it anyways.

bob

N8N wrote:

Reply to
Blank

Is there specific place that you want it mounted? If not look for factory holes in the trunk or under the dash or where-ever that the bracket can be modified to use. Otherwise why not just drill the holes where upon vehicle return the bracket can be removed and the holes covered up by replacing a piece of trim, etc?

Reply to
Brent

Of maybe put it in the footwell behind the passenger seat, then you can reach it by turning round into the gap between the front seats. It will stay fairly still as you drive around, constrained by the underside of the passenger seat, the base of the rear seat (or the rise in the floor pan where the fuel tank sits), the transmission tunnel and the lip of the door frame. A bit of Velcro to stick it to the carpet would help even more to keep it in one place.

Reply to
Mortimer

I keep a good fire extinguisher in my kitchen, and that is that. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

I suppose I'd prefer to have it either under my knees or under the passenger's knees, that way it is easy to access but doesn't intrude on otherwise useful interior space. In this specific car, there is no center console, so on the "hump" is also an option.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Velcro won't even start to hold that extinguisher in the event of an accident. Considering that I have seen documented cases of folks being killed by a Kleenex box that flew up from the back of the car, I wouldn't even try it.

I would look for a better location. How about using a simple sheet metal bracket attached to an existing bolt or hole? Make a bracket and slide it under a seat mount or the console brackets?

Reply to
Steve W.

Funny you should mention that, I have a Brey-Krause bracket that works exactly as you describe for my 944... unfortunately, it's useless. (limits seat travel so severely that even at 5'11" I can't get close enough to the steering wheel, and if I put it on the pass. side you can't get in the back seat anymore) But maybe the seat bolt spacing is close enough to work on the Ch*vy? might have to dig it out and try it. I was trying to figure some ideas how I might be able to mod the bracket to actually work well in the 944 but I never went too far with it.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I've got one of those junk caddies that you tie to the headrest and butt area of a bucket seat with the buckle straps provided so that it snugs up to the rear of the seat. It has some small (stretch to accommodate a soda pop can) mesh pouches at the top, and a cooler bag with zippered cover at the bottom. I originally bought it to keep Pokemon cards, juice boxes, napkins, etc. in a self service location for the backseat gang, but as we've outgrown all that, it's proven to be a good home for the sort of emergency supplies you might want to keep in the car within easy reach.

Last sheepskin seat cover that I bought at Costco had a pouch in back big enough to hold such an extinguisher.

Don't remember the brand of either one, but their name is legion.

I'll take a look at one of the motor-pool Impalas tomorrow and see if inspiration strikes regarding something more solid.

I've put out three vehicle fires (one on my own car, two as good samaritan, all apparently due to pinholed power-steering high-pressure hoses) and don't consider this paranoid at all!

--Joe

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

Question... Why carry it inside the vehicle? State police keep theirs in the trunk. Truckers keep theirs in a side panel accessible only from outside.

Reply to
Blank

A car may be a bit tighter space wise, but on my truck I just cable tied the FE bracket to the rear seat frame.

Reply to
Pete C.

Yeah, I carried mine in the trunk too.

As a kid and young man, I had three fires in cars. I finally got the message, and bought and started carrying extinquisher in trunk. Never had another fire- those things sure work :-)

When changing to a newer car several years ago, I left the extinquisher out. I only stick it in trunk now when towing my race car, since club rules require extinquisher in every pit.

But in spite of not having extinquisher in car on a regular basis, I have had no more fires. The years I did carry one seem to have broken the jinx. Of course, it could be I started driving newer, better cars, instead of the heaps I could afford as a kid and young man.

Reply to
Don Stauffer

I think that the "newer, better cars" thing is probably a good part of it. However, while my current cars may be "better" than the cars I drove 10-15 years ago, they're not a whole lot "newer" in age. Also, I'm still paranoid, especially since 944s have known issues with fuel hoses... (seems like Porsche doesn't learn, 914s had a similar issue.) Which reminds me, I have a nice set of stainless braided AN hoses that I've been waiting for a warm day to install... however, it seems far more likely that the *next* warm day will be occupied with swapping on my snow tires :(

Just on principle I feel like I should carry an extinguisher in Vlad the Impala as well... preparation beats the heck out of reaction, most cases.

In my pickup truck, I'll likely just screw a 5 lb. bracket to the inside of the bed near the tailgate, seeing as that's mine and I don't particularly care about aesthetics...

nate

Reply to
N8N

I just keep mine on floor behind the passenger seat. It rolls around a little bit but it's pretty well blocked from getting up front in case of an accident. And it's easy to get to.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

I've never had a car fire... in spite of more than once having had fuel leaks that were very close to causing them.

BUT, I have used the fire extinguisher in the car three times so far, putting out fires in other people's cars. It's one of those things that might come in handy someday.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

I run into no-drilling a lot. Try setting up a Fire vehicle with a light bar, two radios and antennas without drilling a hole....

I'm getting real good at finding factory bolts and holes to mount things. Antennas mounted to fender bolts or to rear hinges, radios mounted using custom brackets installed under the console, lights mounted using double sided trim tape on LONG chrome plated strips (spreads the load of the lights and looks neat to boot) or mounted to the roof rack mounting holes.

Reply to
Steve W.

Hook velcro will stick to the car carpet, but not usually all that well (it will depend on the carpet -- the stuff which is tight loops will probably work quite well, but the stuff which is basically felted is what I'm referring to). And when you go to remove the extinguisher the whole bracket will come with it, though I suppose that's not a problem if the bracket doesn't interfere with using the extinguisher.

Reply to
Matthew Russotto

Some of them do, but some of them have one in the cab (maybe in addition?)

The cops are more interested in keeping the shotgun available than the extinguisher.

Reply to
Matthew Russotto

I've thought about fabricating mounts for a fire extinguisher using the front mounting bolts on the passenger side seat rails in my Camaro. So far I haven't even purchased a suitable fire extinguisher, but it really doesn't look that difficult. In my BMW I have one that fits perfectly in the side pocket of the trunk and held in place by a bottle of water and a pocket knife.

Ulf

Reply to
Ulf

Speaking of extinguishers

What is the type of extinguishers everyone carrying in the car?

Reply to
me

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