Deja-Vu: A frightning experience

[Jan van de Wouw <Jan@xxxx>]

This was TOTAL deja-vu for me! I had this happen to me 6 weeks ago;
take a look at message 12482 <http://www.egroups.com/message/dmcnews/12482>

> the switch shorts out. It sparks.
> No problem. As the smoke clears I drive.
[snip]
> At this time, flames start coming from the dash.
[snip]
> My girlfriend and I can manage only two words: Fire Exinguisher!
> The manager comes out, give two quick bursts in the dash to put the fire
> out. 
[snip]
> Damage to the car looks minimal, since the fire burned for 30-60sec. max. No
> damage to the dash I can see. Biggest problem is the Fire Extinguisher
> material(a white dust) that covers the interior. I hope we can vac that out.

You have got to get the powder out as soon as you can!!!
The powder is "Hygroscopic"; it attracts moisture.
My car was "saved" with a powder-extinguisher too, filling my complete interior 
in a thin white coat (look at < http://www.vdwouw.demon.nl/fire/powder.jpg> 
for a picture of my interior after my fire)

I vacumed the car the moment I got it home, but due to insurance-claims and
such this was two weeks later; when I pulled out my radio, the casing had
specs of rust on it from the moisture collected in the powder.
I even found a thin sheet of white on the INSIDE of the display of the radio!

> The moral of the story: BUY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER!!
> We were lucky the whole car didn't burn. 

A fireman told me that when the flames hit the roof-lining you can allmost 
allways kiss your car goodbye, I'm glad this didn't happen to me either.
Even if my Escort isn't even worth 1/5 of my D, it's still a part of me...

> I plan to buy one today for every car I own. 

Do this as fast as you can! When my Escort caught on fire I was actuallty
running some errants; on of them was getting two extinguishers, I had planned
to do this after two more errants... Guess I was too late!

When you do buy any, buy the powder-variety; they're the best for engine-fires
since they leave a retardant coat of the mess on the materials...
I wanted to get a CO2-kind, but the same fireman as above told me I'd be
better off with powder. Also get a big one; 1kg is too small to put out
most fires once they're really burning. Go for 2kg at least!

Only problem I have to get over now is where to put the damn thing:
what good is an extinguisher if it's locked away in the trunk!

Greetings from a fellow-victim,

JAN van de Wouw
Thinking Different... Using a Mac...
Living the Dream... Driving a DeLorean...

#05141 "Dagger" since Sept. 2000

check out the Delorean-Files at:
http://www.deloreanfiles.nl/
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