Report 1-30-2012 FIRE EXTINGUISHERS!!!!!!!!

[Filthyfisherman]

WOW!!!!! So yesterday was tough!!!! Launched 11-3:30pm, Sunny, brezzy, Prt rainy, WT 72 Stained 2-3ft...Level 71.25... Tough day! Landed one on A-Rig and One on a FF Lizzard in Pacific "Blue" color on 3/8oz tung Bullet and 17 Fluro... Ya two the whole time I was out! And I fished hard! But thats Fishing! And I really have become spoiled since I have been fishing Wilson!!!! The A Rig really can't just be thrown around,, well it could, but not effectively.. I find boat positioning and types of areas is KEY!!!! Plus Wind! But Anyway,,, The Real story of Yesterday was back at the boat launch..... I beleave the same guy that waked and swamped the guy that lost gear,,,, was launching his champion w/ 115.... I beached up and got the truck,, His girl friend pulled out and park his Land Rover.... I backed in and started to get my boat.... BANG!,, A loud bang came from his boat! "Almost a backfire type" but louder! I saw Smoke pouring out from his exhust ports on back gunrails... Black smoke!!! With a small cup, he started dumping water on it! I dove into my deck compartment and Grabbed my EXTINGUISHER!!!! Dropped my new trolling engine down and headed over!!!! 6 yrs Volunteer FireFighter Bucks County PA,, I would have to say,, I was trained WELL!!!! I got into range and the guy was trying to hand rods to his girlfriend and prepare to AB!! It looked like... I yelled open that Hatch!!!! He pulled it up,,, FLAMES, fully involved fire in his FUEL compartment!!!!! I knocked it down using the SWEEP technique!!!!! Massive Smoke! I then jumped onto his boat and began opening hatches and knocking down other small flames!!! Only couple seconds that gas tank was going to go up!!!!! He was very thankful.. He seems to be a nice guy,,, Just very GreenHorn!!! I gave him my fire extinguisher.... Suggest if you read this, to take the whole boat to a marina to get fully checked out!!! And Slow down around other boaters and fisherman. Thats all... AND EVERYONE HAVE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS! Thats Filthy's tip of the week!

[BASSTRACKER]

if thats the guy that waked those people it sounds like karma found him hard!! actually by state law along with a pfd for everyone on board and a noise making device for emergency signaling. your also supposed to carry a fire extinguisher on board. sounds like that guy owes you BIG time!!! I'm sure he won't be back out awhile but instead of a total loss sounds like you saved his rig, maybe his ass too. its good to carry on in the vehicles too, I've used the one in my truck twice!! be surprised how many car fires happen and no one has one. actually that incident with the police car on the freeway might have turned out different had some of those people had fire extinguishers, a lot of them were trying to throw bottled water.......

[medc808]

They were very lucky you were around, as well as all of us that fish in the lake and around the boat ramp. Who knows what would have happened and gotten into the lake if you were not there.

It does sound like the people who created that wake...hopefully they will look into boating safely. It was a beautiful boat...

[roadwarriorsvt]

Tracker is right. A fire extinguisher not only the law, but just a good idea in general. The fire didn't seem to put out his fire to catch fish. Later on in the afternoon, he was still fishing on his boat using the trolling motor. He told me what had happened.

To the guys who got waked and lost all their gear, maybe inform this guy of what had happen as a direct result of his actions. Maybe he will man up and help replace some of the gear, or maybe everyone involved will appear on Judge Judy!

[Filthyfisherman]

Not sure about the law here... But in PA you only need an extinguisher for boats over 14'.... But Nevermind that!!! Carry extinguishers!!! Ya,, I left some White residue on the water around the ramp, but all that much.... Better than a Full fuel tank spilling out everywhere burning things up. And a Champion melted up.. If I see the guy again I'll talk to him... Shame the equitment the other guy lost couldn't be salvaged! Anyone know where this happened? With the lake dropping, might be able get at it....I am willing to put a snorkel mask on? Let me know, always willing help out... Theirs a reason I use bright Yellow rods! I've made a couple dives for rods lost in the past. LOL..

[roadwarriorsvt]

Before you go diving into the lake, check out the leptospirosis warning signs at the boat ramp. Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to several types of the Leptospira bacteria, which can be found in fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine. It occurs in warmer climates like ours. Leptospirosis is rare in the continental United States but Hawaii has the highest number of cases in the U. S. Just FYI...

[Ca_Bass]

Not that a fire is ever good, but it's good that it happend while he had it at the ramp and not in the middle of the lake. Being in the navy and having spent about a year under the water in submarine I know a fire on a boat can be extremely dangerous and is super scary...I've experienced 4 fires underway, luckily they were minor and put out before they had a chance to spread, but even so it's a bit scary when you hear the alarm sound and smoke is everywhere. I guess it's not really luck, everyone on board has at a minimum the training to act as a first responder and begin fighting a fire.

One thing i'd like to point out about fire extinguishers that may or may not be common knowledge is they have classes.

Class A: used to fight fire of combustible materials such as wood, paper, plastic ect.

Class B: used to fight fires of flammable liquids such as gas, oil ect (probably a good one for your boat)

Class C: used for electrical fires(they don't conduct electricity) and won't destroy they electronics if they haven't already been ruined by the fire

There are other classes as well but I think theses are the most common.

CO2 exstinguishes will work for both class B and C fires but are not great for class A fires.

And if memory serves correct class A extinguishers will destroy electronics because of the residue they leave behind...maybe not that important when you are putting out a fire in a recreational vehicle but it was a big deal on submarines where the electronics can cost millions of dollars and are sometimes extremely hard to replace.

I'm sure west marine carries the appropriate extinguishing agent for our boating needs

Hope this helps someone...but I would recommend every boater to do a little research on basic fire fighting and exstinguishing agents because you never know when it may save your life, someone elses life or maybe it can just save your boat.

Good job Filthyfisherman! If you were in the Navy you'd probably get some sort of an award

When I got to Texas I actually had to complete a boating course(pass the test..(which was actually pretty difficult and I've been around boats all my life) in order to operate a boat legally. It might not seem all that useful for someone who has been around boats and boated all their life but they would be extremely valuable for a new boater. And it also will save you a little cash on your boat insurance

[chipster621]

Maybe someone could do a short instructional on proper fire extinguisher use at the hatchery cleanup. Filthy mentioned using the SWEEP technique. I know you're supposed to aim at the base of the flames, but that's about it.

Maybe someone from the Wahiawa fire station would be willing to stop by and do a demo, maybe even give us some hands-on instruction.

[BASSTRACKER]

ya and they run out of charge really fast once they have been used so that extinguisher you gave that guy won't be good for long, not to mention the fire retardant in it might be nearly gone, only thing worse than no fire extinguisher is thinking you have one that will work and then finding out too late that it dosent. they are pretty cheap at any store and get the combo one that will put out all the fires. someone may want to inform that guy its not to smart to be out on the lake after a fuel fire, possibly due to a leak and using the battery for the trolling motor. fumes in the compartment could build up real fast and cause a much worse explosion with the slightest little electrical discharge. he really needs to get the whole thing checked. ethanol has a really bad way of eating three the fuel system and causing little leaks. best to replace the hoses as soon as they start to get hard. who knows that kinda damage that fire did to the fuel system and possibly the wiring, its a bad bad combo if it goes wrong.

[Stan Wright]

Had a greece fire in the kitchen at home and grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the boat... it wasn't big enough, too small. Fortunately my neighbor heard me yelling at the wife to call 911 and ran over with a large ABC unit and put out the fire. Ruined the stove and scorched the wall. The fire department set up fans to clear the smoke and help drag the stove outside.

I bought 6 new fire extinguishers at CostCo and have them spread around the house, in the car and the boat. Gave a new one to my neighbor too.

There is talk that Hawaii may start requiring Boat Safety Training. Need to pass the course to get a license to operate a boat. Probably not a bad idea.

[BASSTRACKER]

stan your not supposed to use an extinguisher or water to put out a grease fire. the water and the power of the extinguisher could spread the fire over a wider area. supposed to smother it. guess it worked though right.

[Stan Wright]

It wasn't grease in a pan... I'm guessing it was old splatter... something electrical in the back of the stove started smoking and sparking and then went up the wall. The extinguisher left a lot of white powder all over the place. But that's a lot better than grey and black ashes.

The ones I have now are for Home/Office use... Rated 3-A: 40-B:C
Shows pictures of A, B, and C fires... ?

[fish4fun]

Quite a start for the guy in the champion
Swamping boats and catching fire
Hope he starts treading lightly and he doesn't hurt himself or someone else during his learning process