DANGER STRESSED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 22 February 1941, Page 6

DANGER STRESSED

UNSERVICED FIRE EXTINGUISHERS “MORE A MENACE THAN A SAFEGUARD” FIRE BRIGADE SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENT The dangerous contlttlon in which many fire extinguishers were kept was emphasised this morning by the Superintendent of the Nelson Fire Brigade, Mr A. J. Bennett. The Controller of the Fire Section of the Emergency Precautions Scheme in Nelson recently made an appeal to business firms to have their extinguishers inspected by the Fire Department, and a number have already done so. Almost all the extinguishers handed in have been found in very poor condition and would have been definitely dangerous if anyone had tried to operate them, said Mr Bennett. It was also doubtful if they would have been able to be used in case of fire. “Extinguishers are more a menace than a safeguard if they are not serviced regularly and kept in first class order,” he added. "They should be inspected at least every twelve months.” Before giving an instance of the danger run in using a defective extinguisher, Mr Bennett explained how the foam type extinguisher worked. The container was practically full of a solution of sodium bicarbonate, but there was also an inner metal container of a solution of aluminium sulphate and a foam producer. There were several ways of setting the apparatus going but one of the most popular waa to turn it upside down, when the liquids mixed and a foamy solution was forced out at great pressure. After the recent appeal one Nelson garage decided that their foam extin- , guisher might need attention, said Mr Bennett, and they de *ded to take it off the wall where it had been hanging for years and sent it along to U* I Fire Department for inspection. While ;it was being taken down it was given a sufficiently hard jolt to spill some of the solution from the inner container into the sodium bicarbonate and a certain Smount of action was set up. Some foam appeared at the nozzle of the short hose. Those handling the j apparatus then decided to experiment a little on their own and they turned it upside down. This should have set the extinguisher in action. but nothing happened and it was then taken to the Fire Station. One of the brigadesmen set about | taking the apparatus down to investi- | gate it and he had almost unscrewed the cap when it blew off and flew past his head, the solution from the extinguisher at the same time foaming up over the top and spreading over the I ground. This man might have been badly injured if he had been leaning over the apparatus as he unscrewed the top. Mr Bennett explained that when the i first slight action had occurred it had ! blocked the hose, which was badly 1 perished, and when it had been turn;ed upside down the foam had been unable to escape. There was great i pressure and as well as the brigades- | man the men who had carried it from ! the garage to the Fire Station had been !in danger. It had been found later that the inner container had corroded right through and that the outer case ! was also in poor condition. This I meant that the garage was having to I spend £5 or £6 on a new extinguisher simply because it had foiled to have i its apparatus serviced regularly. ; Mr Bennett also remarked that it ! was surprising how few people knew I how to handle an extinguisher corj rectly and he said that if firms wished, the Fire Department would ar- [ range demonstrations to their staffs as jto the correct way to handle a fire* i fighting unit.