Fire extinguishers in train room

Our club layout has extinguishers throughout the building next to the layout.  The club pays a company to check the extinguishers once a year.

I have extinguishers in the house but none in the train room.  I should probably put one there.

NH Joe

rrman posted:

How many have EASY access to a fire extinguisher  in train room?  Noticed from another thread, operator had one right next to layout power switch.

As follow on, how often should extinguishers be replaced with new?  We have three all type (powder?) fire ones, but are old (tags are 1980s) so don't know if they would still work (pressure gauges still in green zone), and of course no way to test unless you pulled the trigger and I believe are not usable again. 

Fire experts, answers please.

To quote TV..."THROW THEM ALL AWAY"...get new ABC extinguishers at the Depot,Lowes or Wal-Mart...they are not expensive....if you are worrying about powder residue you can get a small CO2 extinguisher...all have expiration dates and plastic valve units are not refillable ...check with your recycle people for proper disposal ...hope this helps...joe

New Haven Joe posted:

Our club layout has extinguishers throughout the building next to the layout.  The club pays a company to check the extinguishers once a year.

I have extinguishers in the house but none in the train room.  I should probably put one there.

NH Joe

And so what does the company do other than check the gauge is in green zone, wipe off bottle  and put on new tag (where I worked, that's all I ever saw extinguisher inspector do)?  No way to actually check that trigger would work, gauge wasn't stuck in green with no actual bottle pressure, and that chemicals hadn't packed down/decomposed etc.? 

Don't want thread to stray off safety of having extinguisher in train room, just curious how we know that device will function when needed .

joe krasko posted:

rrman posted:

How many have EASY access to a fire extinguisher  in train room?  Noticed from another thread, operator had one right next to layout power switch.

As follow on, how often should extinguishers be replaced with new?  We have three all type (powder?) fire ones, but are old (tags are 1980s) so don't know if they would still work (pressure gauges still in green zone), and of course no way to test unless you pulled the trigger and I believe are not usable again. 

Fire experts, answers please.

To quote TV..."THROW THEM ALL AWAY"...get new ABC extinguishers at the Depot,Lowes or Wal-Mart...they are not expensive....if you are worrying about powder residue you can get a small CO2 extinguisher...all have expiration dates and plastic valve units are not refillable ...check with your recycle people for proper disposal ...hope this helps...joe

Thanks!

And so what does the company do other than check the gauge is in green zone, wipe off bottle  and put on new tag (where I worked, that's all I ever saw extinguisher inspector do)?  No way to actually check that trigger would work, gauge wasn't stuck in green with no actual bottle pressure, and that chemicals hadn't packed down/decomposed etc.? 

Maybe that is all that is required.
I would not be surprised to learn that the fire extinguishers and their annual checkup by a professional is required by local building codes and/or by the company that insures the property.

I wonder whether mine have expiration date codes. I will have to check.

Bottom line no extinguisher from the 80's is usable...with dry chem units every so often turn them upside down and shake it...the powder tends to cake up shaking it will loosen it up about every other month...CO2 units need to be weighed the correct weight is stamped on the bottle...joe

Good topic.  On a somewhat related issue do any of you use a timer of any sort to plug in all your transformers that will automatically shut off after a period of time?  You see this in a lot of uses like hot tubs or saunas that will cut power of after a period of time.  Many of these I've seen must use some kind of mechanical wind up timer.  I know that they have these for Christmas decorations as well.  Can also use a regular lamp wall timer like the ones used for when you go away on vacation.  

I'm thinking more for use of this by kids who forget to turn just about everything off... adults know better, but a backup wouldn't hurt.  

CO2 extinguisher by the train room door ... the large type.

Current recommendation is to replace disposable fire extinguishers every 10 years.  Do be aware that a fire on the low voltage side of a train layout can safely be extinguished with water.  This does not apply to the 120-volt circuits, unless power is cut.

If you use a CO2 or halon extinguisher, open the windows fast afterwards.  People have died when CO2 is discharged in a closed area, such as a boat cabin.

It is also a good idea to have a smoke detector near the layout, in case something happens and you don't see it.

rrman posted:

New Haven Joe posted:

Our club layout has extinguishers throughout the building next to the layout.  The club pays a company to check the extinguishers once a year.

I have extinguishers in the house but none in the train room.  I should probably put one there.

NH Joe

And so what does the company do other than check the gauge is in green zone, wipe off bottle  and put on new tag (where I worked, that's all I ever saw extinguisher inspector do)?  No way to actually check that trigger would work, gauge wasn't stuck in green with no actual bottle pressure, and that chemicals hadn't packed down/decomposed etc.? 

 

Monthly extinguisher inspections are basically just that: a look to see if the gauge is still in the green, turn the extinguisher over like Joe Krasko said to loosen the dry powder, weigh CO2 bottles, and then finally wipe them down.

Annually, All commercial style extinguishers are required to be inspected. The bottles are opened up, weighed, ensure the gauges are working, resealed, pressurized, and retagged for another year of monthly inspections.  (Home extinguishers not so much, it's not cost effective). Certain extinguishers will require Hydrostatic pressure testing, ie. CO2 which is every 5 years.