# Where to install small fire extinguisher?



## fabrk8r

Put one by the kitchen door exit and one by the main apartment exit.

May look dumb now, but won't look dumb if you ever need 'em!


----------



## Proby

Depends on your local code. When selling a couple houses here, it needed to be 6' from the stove. 

For me, I am happy with one next to the night stand and one in a kitchen cabinet away from the stove. I don't want it too close to the stove because if there is a greasy stove fire I don't want to have to get too close to it in order to get to the fire extinguisher.


----------



## Mr Chips

I keep 2 in the kitchen, one under the sink, the other in the pantry. I also keep one in a linen closet on the second floor, and one in the coat closet by main entrance.

Not sure if it's code, but it works for me


----------



## DexterII

First of all, fire extinguishers are not dumb. How many people, in retrospect, wish they had one of those ugly, dumb things on the wall when things went south. Put it someplace where you will see it regularly, so that you know exactly where it is if you ever need it, and so that you will remember to check the gauge periodically. We keep one in the hallway, right next to the kitchen, where everyone who visits sees it, and hopefully has casued some of them to get their own, one in the garage, and one in the bedroom (just like any manner of self defense, you may need it in the middle of the night). I also keep 3 larger ones in my workshop.


----------



## Proby

DexterII said:


> First of all, fire extinguishers are not dumb.


 The OP said that fire extinguishers *look* dumb. I agree.

Let me ask you a question, would you decorate your home with fire extinguishers if they did not put out fires?


----------



## DexterII

Nope, I would not decorate with them, and yes, you are correct; he did not say they are dumb. My point simply was/is that, although they seldom go with any decor, put them where they are practical, which may or may not be where they "look good".


----------



## Proby

DexterII said:


> Nope, I would not decorate with them, and yes, you are correct; he did not say they are dumb. My point simply was/is that, although they seldom go with any decor, put them where they are practical, which may or may not be where they "look good".


To each his own. I hide mine.


----------



## Mr Chips

They'd look great in a kitchen with Craftsman tool chests for cabinets and diamond plate counter tops!! (insert Tim The Toolman grunt here)


----------



## eisert

Put one near every location that you expect to start a fire. :whistling2:


----------



## MagicalHome

I have one in the kitchen and one in the entry hall way. The kitchen because it is mostly where the fire starts and in the entry hall because if I weren't able to get to the kitchen on time, I have one near the front door.


----------



## hyunelan2

In the kitchen we keep ours under the kitchen sink, right up front so you don't have to do digging for it if you need it. Actually mounting it to the inside of the cabinet is a good method to make sure it doesn't get shoved way in the back. That is, if you are in a situation where you can put holes in the cabinet.

I also keep one hanging on the wall in the garage, but that's a different atmosphere.


----------



## Scuba_Dave

I have a small one by the fireplace
Bigger one is in the kitchen on the floor, out of site
Buying another one for the addition - wood stove
Not sure about the garage yet
I think I will have a hose in there


----------



## DangerMouse

Mr Chips said:


> They'd look great in a kitchen with Craftsman tool chests for cabinets and diamond plate counter tops!! (insert Tim The Toolman grunt here)


hmmm......




nah, the wife would kill me.



Great idea though!!!!

DM


----------



## fireguy

Buy nothing smaller than a 2A10BC rated extinguisher. Buy only one of the following brands , Amerex, Ansul, Badger, or Buckeye. Those are commercial quality extinguishers. When you go into Home Cheapo or Lowes, look to see iwhat brand they have protecting the store. Normally they do not trust the crap they sell to protect the store. Same for most hardware stores, they pay more for commercial quality.


----------



## Mr Chips

fireguy said:


> When you go into Home Cheapo or Lowes, look to see iwhat brand they have protecting the store. Normally they do not trust the crap they sell to protect the store. Same for most hardware stores, they pay more for commercial quality.


Is that because they have no choice and are required to have those on hand because of fire codes? I would think that a commercial building (like a bix box store) would be required to use a higher rated, as they have hundredes of people in them at any given time, and are full of chemicals.

I'm not saying it is bad advice to get the best, just wondering if that's the reason you don't see a little Kiddie extinguisher (pun intended) hanging up in Lowes


----------



## fireguy

Reason # 1
Small 2 # FX do not meet any fire codes. Minimum allowed size is 2A10BC. Required FX size and type is determined by travel distance from FX to next closest FX, type of hazard, fire load, presence of a sprinkler system. 

Reason # 2
Usually the FX is installed and maintained by a 3rd party contractor. They do not sell and install poor quality FX. They sell and install FX from Ansul, Amerex, Badger and Buckeye. I prefer Amerex because of the factory support, & the quality of the FX. We do not recharge Kiddie brand FX.


----------



## daveb1

As for where to install it, it needs to be between the exit and the most likely point of the fire origin. You don't want to go past the fire to get the extinguisher and then be trapped if the fire doesn't go out.


----------



## Jess_718

*Fire Extinguisher*

Great Ideas! 

Many people said in the kitchen.. Maybe in the basement would be a good spot for one as well.....


----------



## RobbyCoffee

In a house you may be tempted to hide them, but in a small business it's necessary to put them on display. In either case, however, you want to consider the fact that it may not be you who needs to use the fire extinguisher one day, and whoever was house-sitting for you when they left a candle next to the drapes might not want to go digging through cabinets and pantries to find what they need. Probability of an emergency shouldn't be taken into account when preparing for one.


----------



## r0ckstarr

Best place to put a fire extinguisher? Put it in a location where it's the easiest and fastest to reach. You need more than one of them too. 

If you're worried about looks now, think of how your house will look when you couldn't get to the fire extinguisher in time.


----------



## r0ckstarr

Jess_718 said:


> Great Ideas!
> 
> Many people said in the kitchen.. Maybe in the basement would be a good spot for one as well.....


In the garage, and in or near any bathroom that has electrical items such as hair dryer, curling iron, etc..


----------



## creeper

I have one hanging on a wall near the exit to the kitchen. I don't even notice the "look" anymore. I choose to keep it visible for the kids (10yrs to 18yrs) who may otherwise panic and not remember it if its out of sight. At least with it in clear view they may have they presense of mind to grab it


----------



## pwgsx

Honestly most of the time they will not put out a fire. They will give you time to get out or smother an area so you can escape BUT the fire will take over again if its anything bigger than a trash can size fire. Good to have to make it out but don't count on it saving your house if a fire starts. I would know. I was home when a fire started in my garage- when I saw it, it was on a metal shelf unit I had against the wall. I sprayed like your told and yes it did put the flames out for a few seconds but it started right back. I did this 2 more times with 2 other extinguishers while trying to get my car out and waiting on the firemen to arrive but once the last extinguisher was out, it was all over. Fire spread quickly thru the garage and some into the house in 5 mins. I no longer care to own a extinguisher but have a smoke detector in every room and a heat detector in the garage.


----------



## r0ckstarr

pwgsx said:


> Honestly most of the time they will not put out a fire. They will give you time to get out or smother an area so you can escape BUT the fire will take over again if its anything bigger than a trash can size fire. Good to have to make it out but don't count on it saving your house if a fire starts. I would know. I was home when a fire started in my garage- when I saw it, it was on a metal shelf unit I had against the wall. I sprayed like your told and yes it did put the flames out for a few seconds but it started right back. I did this 2 more times with 2 other extinguishers while trying to get my car out and waiting on the firemen to arrive but once the last extinguisher was out, it was all over. Fire spread quickly thru the garage and some into the house in 5 mins. I no longer care to own a extinguisher but have a smoke detector in every room and a heat detector in the garage.


Sorry to hear that. What was the cause of the fire?


----------



## pwgsx

Electrical plug that had the lawn sprinkler plugged into it. They really could not find the real reason but had a hunch that it shorted out and since the shelf was in front of it with plastic totes and stuff a fire started. I was watching tv and didn't even know anything till the next shelf caught fire and spray cans started exploding


----------



## ddawg16

Did anyone notice this old thread was resurrected by a spammer? 

BTW pwgsx....sorry about your garage....but a couple of questions...

I know the area your in (I grew up in Hurst)....I'm assuming you had drywall in your garage? But not painted?

If the drywall was done right....the fire should not have spread to the house for at least 10-15 min.....

Is you wring AL....the look of your house and the AL craze that went on during that time looks like your house would be one of those.

And....I have a method you can use to test you outlets to make sure you have good connections.


----------



## nicktools561

Under the sink or in the pantry is where I have installed mines. Good luck, let us know how things are progressing!


----------



## kwikfishron

ddawg16 said:


> Did anyone notice this old thread was resurrected by a spammer?


Spammer or not, some threads deserve a bump every once and a while.


----------



## r0ckstarr

ddawg16 said:


> And....I have a method you can use to test you outlets to make sure you have good connections.


Go on... Finish your post.


----------



## wkearney99

RobbyCoffee said:


> In a house you may be tempted to hide them, but in a small business it's necessary to put them on display.


Heh, that saved an old car of mine from burning up. Nabbed one from a nearby video store (remember THOSE?) and dashed back out to kill the runaway carb fire on my old Bavaria. Much to the utter shock of the old korean lady working there at the time. But sure as hell helped me to have that thing visible. I replaced theirs and got another one for the truck of the car. 

I already have two spots planned for ones in our new house. In the workshop and in the kitchen pantry, both near an exit path. The new house has sprinklers and the alarm system has heat detectors, but if I've got a chance to killing the fire before the sprinklers trip I'd be glad to avoid the water damage. Otherwise, yeah, I'd just bail with everyone outside and let the insurance folks sort it out.


----------



## pwgsx

Copper wire. There was so much heat the ceiling just buckled and flames went up. They got it in time to save most of the house BUT black smoke got everything. Whole house was gutted and re-done.


----------



## ddawg16

r0ckstarr said:


> Go on... Finish your post.


Here is the thread I did on an easy way to test.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/measuring-voltage-drop-177807/


----------



## roofingquotes

I have two fire extinguisher at home. The first one in our kitchen and the other one near in the junction box.


----------



## jproffer

The rental company I used to work for used THESE. They required 2 over each stove. Come with a magnet so you can just slap 'em up into the vent hood and forget about it.

They ARE kinda pricey, as you'll see...but you can get individual ones also, or ask around for a few neighbors to share the cost with.


----------

