Is it necessary to carry a fire extinguisher in a car?
1 Answers
It is advisable for private cars to carry a fire extinguisher. Highway traffic police generally do not conduct special inspections on whether small vehicles are equipped with car fire extinguishers. However, for vehicles such as buses, tourist vehicles, school buses, and hazardous chemical transport vehicles, there is a focus on checking whether they are equipped with on-board fire extinguishers, warning triangles, and other equipment, and whether the fire extinguishers are expired. Regulations explicitly stipulate that the aforementioned vehicles must be mandatorily equipped with fire extinguishers. Below is extended information on the types of on-board fire extinguishers: 1. Dry powder fire extinguishers operate through chemical suppression, interrupting the chain reaction of combustion. They offer high fire extinguishing levels, comprehensive functionality, rapid extinguishing, and possess electrical insulation properties along with good low-temperature performance, making them particularly suitable for use in factories, warehouses, and outdoor settings. The drawback is that dry powder extinguishing agents are not resistant to re-ignition, and users must undergo specialized technical training. Due to their price advantage, most vehicles are equipped with portable pressurized dry powder fire extinguishers. 2. Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers work by suffocation, reducing the oxygen concentration around the burning material to extinguish the fire. Carbon dioxide, as an extinguishing agent, has excellent insulation properties. However, its disadvantages include a high extinguishing concentration, resulting in low fire extinguishing levels, making it suitable for relatively enclosed spaces; poor resistance to re-ignition; and carbon dioxide being a moderately toxic substance. When the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air reaches 2%, it can cause discomfort. 3. Aqueous film-forming foam (now called water-based) fire extinguishers operate through cooling and isolation, offering high fire extinguishing levels and minimal water damage during use, with neither the secondary pollution of dry powder nor the toxicity of carbon dioxide. Currently, the biggest drawback of domestically produced aqueous film-forming foam extinguishing agents is their poor stability after dilution, making them unsuitable for long-term storage. For a practical extinguishing agent, storage stability is one of its most important performance indicators. Comparatively, the price of aqueous film-forming foam fire extinguishers is also relatively high.
