MASSIVE Kidde fire extinguisher recall

[Spear Dane]

Having fought MANY fires, yes the powder sucks.
sucks
sucks
sucks

You guys practice fire fighting enough I reckon your average sailor could be considered a semi-pro fire fighter. But did you ever have a real fire at sea? If so...change of skivvies after?

 

[actaeon277]

You guys practice fire fighting enough I reckon your average sailor could be considered a semi-pro fire fighter. But did you ever have a real fire at sea? If so...change of skivvies after?

Well, there's sub fighting fire, then there's steel mill fighting fire.
The Navy gave me better training.
The steel mill has given me more fires. Granted, 6 years Navy, and 26 years steel mill.

Yes, I've fought a couple fires at sea. But, fortunately due to having watchstanders located all over, the fires were found fast. Also, electrical fires are generally extinguished when power is removed. Then you just have to worry about if they started a class A fire. Fire hoses were flaked out to the scene. But fire extinguishers were what put the fire out. As a note, we were taught NOT to extinguish using EVERY portable extinguisher. Any more than 2 fire extinguishers was considered a large fire, which required hoses. And hoses are flaked out IMMEDIATELY. You don't wait for someone to say they need it.
There is no wait for firefighters or a truck, so it is attacked faster. We are the firefighters, and we are in the fire truck.

If a hose is needed, there are 2 fire teams.
Before the Bonefish incident..
Fire team 1 attacks the fire.
Fire team 2 sprays Fire Team 1 with low velocity fogger to keep them cool.
Firefighting done in sub coveralls (poopy suits).
Immediate responders have no breathing apparatus.
Damage control responders don OBAs (Oxygen Breathing Apparatus).

After the Bonefish incident..
Immediate Responders fight the fire as described above.
Damage Control responders don FFEs (Fire Fighting Ensembles) and OBAs (Oxygen Breathing Apparatus)
Then they take over the fire teams and modify to..
Fire team 1 attacks the fire.
NIFTY man scans for hot spots (in the Bonefish fire, smoke was so dark and thick, they could not even see the fire.) (NIFTY is a thermal imager)
Fire team 2 attacks fire that fire team 1 is missing, and keeps the evac route clear.

Torpedo room modification.
Fire team 2 keeps the torpedoes cool. The explosives are fine, unless they melt. If they melt, a small shock can set them off.

4 notes:
1) CO2 extinguishers can build a frost on the dispensing cone. The frost is conductive. Do not allow cone to touch electrical equipment.
2) largish CO2 extinguishers can build a static charge during long discharges. Keep the bottle on the ground to ground it.
3) when using a hose. On land the steam goes up. On a submarine, or the depths of a ship, the steam can't go up. Guess where it goes. At you. So, duck.
4) When fighting in dungarees or sub coveralls, zippers zipped, buttons buttoned all the way up, unroll sleeves. Clothing isn't much protection, but it's something.


My sub was old, so we did have quite a few fires.
But as I said, they were small. More danger was side effects. Such as what equipment was lost, and getting something else running to do the same thing.
During a drill, we lost depth control because someone didn't notice that when we lost the port electric bus, both hydraulic pumps were powered from port.
Also, fire eats O2. Kinda a big thing underwater.
So, while we did everything right, and can pat ourselves on the back...

This is what happens on a sub where everything doesn't go right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bonefish_(SS-582)
(go down to the section labeled "fire")

also
https://www.facebook.com/101385216229/photos/a.103778931229.103044.101385216229/10151367592196230/
(if not logged into facebook, click on "not now")

There's actually some great details about this, but for some reason I can't find them.
The hull insulation caught on fire, which isn't supposed to happen.
That created thick black smoke. We modified our training exercises so that when you entered a compartment, a drill monitor placed a vision restrictor over your mask so that you could barely see anything.
The Navy added Fire Fighting Ensembles, and had to modify the fire teams because you're not supposed to spray them, as was previously done.
The Navy caused the NIFTY to come into the sub service. Bonefish's smoke was so bad, the fire teams couldn't see the fires.


Even though my sub firefighting was limited due to fires being found/extinguished fast, I did go through fire fighting training involving going through a smokehouse with no breathing gear (to show sailors they can do it if they don't panic), and I had to fight fires on lakes of fuel oil.
Since then, at the mill, I've fought 2 fires fueled by natural gas, singeing some eyebrows and arm hair, and made a funny video that involved in my helmet being caught in some cables suspended from a ceiling. Quite a few fires involving grease, which can burn pretty nice. Electrical fires. And solid fuel fires.

 

[actaeon277]

You guys practice fire fighting enough I reckon your average sailor could be considered a semi-pro fire fighter. But did you ever have a real fire at sea? If so...change of skivvies after?

While no one knows how they will react when the poop hits the rotary air mover, I am pretty confident in my reaction to some situations.
Fires. Done.
Flooding. Done.
Radiation. Done.
Loss of depth control in deep waters. Done.
Misestimating the depth of the bottom of shallow waters and slamming the sub into the bottom and watching people fall. Done.
Depth Charged. Done. (Though not close enough to damage it did get our attention.)
Complete loss of lighting. Done. (one reason I always carry a flashlight on my belt).
Sleep deprivation. Done done and done.
3 fingers broken in hatch while standing on ladder. Done.
Electrically shocked. Done and done. Once by 30,000 volts from the nuclear instruments.
Oxygen level loss of control. Done.
Being on the surface in a storm with waves so big they washed OVER the submarine.


I'm sure there's a few others. But that's a pretty good list.
This is why I smile when sheltered people (not anyone here, on the outside world) tell me I won't react well when things happen and I should "leave it to the experts".

 

[Jeepster48439]

Submitted my request for replacements. One I have had for over 6 years and it is actually discharged. Will be interested to see what they say when they get it back.

 

[Spear Dane]

Dang, Actaeon. (dunno what else to say.)

 

[Cameramonkey]

Submitted my request for replacements. One I have had for over 6 years and it is actually discharged. Will be interested to see what they say when they get it back.

If the tamper seal is intact and it just leaked out, you should be fine. If you send them a used unit, expect them to tell you to pound sand. Or if they wanted to troll back in the latter case, it would be epic for them to send you a replacement that is also discharged.

 

[Butch627]

I highly doubt that they are going to be inspecting what is sent in. This thing is costing them a pretty penny and bickering with people who send things in will cost them more money in wasted man hours and negative posts on the net. I have at least 5 to send in

 

[KMaC]

I don't think there is any plan for returning the defective units. The application on line doesn't mention it or warn you to keep the unit for return. Maybe they will enclose a UPS return label when they ship you the replacement but I doubt it. The replacement cost, the shipping cost (doubled if they want a unit back), and the labor to disassemble and clean just to salvage a canister. I can't see this as cost effective.

 

[easy]

You guys practice fire fighting enough I reckon your average sailor could be considered a semi-pro fire fighter. But did you ever have a real fire at sea? If so...change of skivvies after?

Been through a few too many on a skimmer. Not as much other stuff acteon277, but there were some really iffy moments in bad places.

 

[actaeon277]

Dang, Actaeon. (dunno what else to say.)

Been through a few too many on a skimmer. Not as much other stuff acteon277, but there were some really iffy moments in bad places.

I think everyone that's been in has their stories. Some better, some worse. But being in tends to give you a different view of stuff.



And I forgot, there was the time we were rammed by a tugboat so hard we ruptured and lost 1/3 of our starboard ballast tanks.

 

[Spear Dane]

Damn. Poor Bonefish the 2nd had a hard luck life for sure. Speaking on returning the defective items, I have not seen anything anywhere that even hinted at that, except here, and we don't count.

 

[KittySlayer]

I don't think there is any plan for returning the defective units. The application on line doesn't mention it or warn you to keep the unit for return. Maybe they will enclose a UPS return label when they ship you the replacement but I doubt it. The replacement cost, the shipping cost (doubled if they want a unit back), and the labor to disassemble and clean just to salvage a canister. I can't see this as cost effective.

Nothing in the FAQ about sending back in, just keep until you receive replacement. You input the serial number so that takes care scammers making multiple request. I have four and will probably discharge them in the backyard to harass squirrels. The website is a little klunky, at least using my iPad, so go into when you are in a patient mood.

 

[Mr. Habib]

Halon was a most excellent fire suppressor. Too bad it was lethal to all known life as well.

I've seen first hand what 2 300 lb halon tanks can do. Very impressive!

 

[yeti rider]

Thank you for the heads up Spear Dane. I have one of the units being recalled.

 

[MRockwell]

This may sound a little off the wall...If any of you guys that have junk extinguishers, I'm looking for a couple to build a project. I am around sheridan/westfield/noblesville and can pick them up(don't want to drive too far 'cause that would defeat the budget).

PM me if you have any to get rid of. Thanks

 

[Vigilant]

If the tamper seal is intact and it just leaked out, you should be fine. If you send them a used unit, expect them to tell you to pound sand. Or if they wanted to troll back in the latter case, it would be epic for them to send you a replacement that is also discharged.

They send the replacement unit first, with instructions on what to do with your old extinguishers. I had 6 on the recall, my garage, kitchen, and the two in the JEEP, and one in the car.

 

[Alamo]

... I have four and will probably discharge them in the backyard to harass squirrels. ....

Assuming you don't have to send them back (which I am sure we won't), good chance to train family and friends on actually using a fire extinguisher. It's not rocket science, but it always helps to have done it in practice before having to do it for real.

 

[Hkindiana]

Assuming you don't have to send them back (which I am sure we won't), good chance to train family and friends on actually using a fire extinguisher. It's not rocket science, but it always helps to have done it in practice before having to do it for real.

I just got off the phone with Kidde, because I have MANY to be replaced. All were on the recall list. She said the new units all come with FedEx return shipping tags. She said that I will need to call FedEx and have them arrange a pick-up, since you cannot drop them off at a FedEx drop off locacation "since they are FLAMMABLE"!!!! I told her that I had never heard if a flammable fire extinguisher, and did she possibly mean "pressurized"? After dead silence on the phone, she finally said "I guess". So, don't expect to play/train with your old extinguishers, and be careful with them, as they might be flammable, lol.

 

[Brandon]

Figures the one I had to use recently was a metal. Now I need to get it recharged somewhere.

 

[KittySlayer]

She said the new units all come with FedEx return shipping tags. She said that I will need to call FedEx and have them arrange a pick-up...

They are going to have more wrapped up in shipping charges than I spent on the extinguishers initially, new out/old return.