This is why you carry a 'grab it and run' bag....

[Tins]

OUCH. Sure, it's a Jeep. It could happen to anything..


https://youtu.be/afpnkCOsMFU

Imagine this in the VHC in high summer. Maybe one extinguisher is not enough.

[4bee]

I think he needs his eyes tested," This is a pretty substantial building" he says looking at a pile of crappy old timber flat smack on the ground.[biggrin][biggrin][biggrin][biggrin]

[Tins]

I think he needs his eyes tested," This is a pretty substantial building" he says looking at a pile of crappy old timber flat smack on the ground.[biggrin][biggrin][biggrin][biggrin]

You noticed that too? Could be his car was ablaze for a while before he noticed... Doesn't change the message though.

[trout1105]

Why didn't the clown use his shovel and throw heaps of dirt over the engine when his extinguishers had ran out and maybe it would have been better to spend time on the fire instead of setting up the go pro"s:[bigwhistle]

[Ancient Mariner]

This is why you fit a battery isolator and turn it off before you do any thing else.Any wonder he couldn't extinguish it


AM

[trout1105]

This is why you fit a battery isolator and turn it off before you do any thing else.Any wonder he couldn't extinguish it


AM

That is a fantastic idea, sadly I have never done this to any of my 4WD's
I have had to take off the earth lead on my old V6 capri once because of an electrical fire under the dash once and saved the car..
It looks like "panic" took over in this case and old mate didn't think it through, It can happen to the best of us.

[speleomike]

Hi

I think using the shovel to try and put out that engine fire, even in the beginning, would have been futile. Fire extinguishers are very effective if aimed at the source or base of the fire and if the energy that started the fire has been dissipated or exhausted.

At least he did have a shovel and spent time putting out the grass fires. Pay him that one.

He also needs a mate or someone to travel with him. Doing such trips alone is risky. What would have happened if that fire had of started whilst he was in a roof top tent or asleep in the back of the vehicle in a sleeping bag?

Mike

[bob10]

Some dry spinifex wrapped around the exhaust can cause a similar fire. The fire started at the back of the engine, perhaps dry grass on the exhaust ? He was remarkably cool. Can't see shovelling sand would have achieved anything. Some fellows in the Territory used to carry garden sprayers full of water just for that type of fire. Although I've never spoken to one who has successfully used that . Food for thought, thanks for posting.

[trout1105]

Hi

I think using the shovel to try and put out that engine fire, even in the beginning, would have been futile. Fire extinguishers are very effective if aimed at the source or base of the fire and if the energy that started the fire has been dissipated or exhausted.

At least he did have a shovel and spent time putting out the grass fires. Pay him that one.

He also needs a mate or someone to travel with him. Doing such trips alone is risky. What would have happened if that fire had of started whilst he was in a roof top tent or asleep in the back of the vehicle in a sleeping bag?

Mike

Dirt/sand is surprisingly effective at putting out fires (ask ANY firefighter) an electrical fire not so much unless you disable the battery in case of a car fire.
Dirt/sand will remove the oxygen AND lower the temperature and without these a fire will go out.
Simple physics guys [thumbsupbig]

[speleomike]

I think if you throw sand in the engine bay most will just end up on the ground underneath the car.
It's good for putting out an oil fire on a flat area where the sand or dirt stays in place.

[trout1105]

I think if you throw sand in the engine bay most will just end up on the ground underneath the car.
It's good for putting out an oil fire on a flat area where the sand or dirt stays in place.

It is a far better option than doing SFA[bigwhistle]

[bob10]

I think if you throw sand in the engine bay most will just end up on the ground underneath the car.
It's good for putting out an oil fire on a flat area where the sand or dirt stays in place.

I think you are correct. Perhaps if you had a back hoe you could place a bucket or two over the engine in the hope that reached the source of the fire. [bighmmm] The old timers used to say when in that long grass country, stop every now & then & check under the vehicle , and clear away any combustible material. [ only they used more robust language than that. ] It just confirms a sat phone or similar is essential, out in those areas. . I honestly couldn't think of a worse thing to happen in a remote area on your own.

[B.S.F.]

That's what I like about this forum. So many perfect people that always know exactly what to do in any given situation, always have the right gear at hand and probably never even stubbed a toe on a piece of stationary furniture.
.W.

[bob10]

An Aussie survival story. He admits he was a dill.

Man survives almost a month stranded in outback on Canning Stock Route eating ants - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-29/man-survives-almost-a-month-stranded-in-outback-eating-ants/11910576)

[speleomike]

Interesting.

Yes he was a dill to have no EPIRB but it looks like when things went south he did the right things. He knew he needed water more than food, and he left a note on his car and made it stand out with bright yellow things. He tried food in small test amounts first. He had shelter from the sun and the cold at night. All in all quite sensible despite the early mistake.

Mike

[bob10]

It's looking more essential to carry a sat. phone , which is what most pundits advise. And a list of numbers to ring along your route in case it goes pearshaped. But that's remote travel 101. Going alone is always a risk , but some like it that way. Maintaining a clear head, it seems, is essential. We live in a big country, great to travel in, but it can kill you.

[W&KO]

That's what I like about this forum. So many perfect people that always know exactly what to do in any given situation, always have the right gear at hand and probably never even stubbed a toe on a piece of stationary furniture.
.W.

Yup......

[rick130]

That is a fantastic idea, sadly I have never done this to any of my 4WD's.Ditto, and yet they were on every race car I've ever worked on, for this very reason.

[W&KO]

I don’t reckon a battery isolator is going to stop a fire once it starts.

We have to have two battery isolators fitted to our work cars, one for starter only and the other for everything

Back to the video, am I the only one that leave my car running when I pull up to open a gate....seems strange he turns off the car and put keys in his pocket.

[B.S.F.]

I don’t reckon a battery isolator is going to stop a fire once it starts.

We have to have two battery isolators fitted to our work cars, one for starter only and the other for everything

Back to the video, am I the only one that leave my car running when I pull up to open a gate....seems strange he turns off the car and put keys in his pocket.


No you're not the only one, Malcolm Douglas did it too.
.W.

[austastar]

Hi,
Depends on the neighbourhood.
Cheers

[4bee]

I don’t reckon a battery isolator is going to stop a fire once it starts.

We have to have two battery isolators fitted to our work cars, one for starter only and the other for everything

Back to the video, am I the only one that leave my car running when I pull up to open a gate....seems strange he turns off the car and put keys in his pocket.

Was it because he was about to enter Private Property on foot for a recce, albeit a dump.?


My S2A has a Batt. Isol. fitted. I fitted it the day I recommissioned the vehicle Who wants to start a fire in the middle of a grassy paddock with 10 gallons of Petrol on board? Not I.



NB. Didn't mean a dump as in a ****, although that could have been his motive, just that the property was in a bad repair sort of dump.[biggrin]

[Ancient Mariner]

I don’t reckon a battery isolator is going to stop a fire once it starts.

We have to have two battery isolators fitted to our work cars, one for starter only and the other for everything

Back to the video, am I the only one that leave my car running when I pull up to open a gate....seems strange he turns off the car and put keys in his pocket. A battery isolator won't stop a fire once started but does remove one source of reignition after you think you have the fire out

[W&KO]

A battery isolator won't stop a fire once started but does remove one source of reignition after you think you have the fire out

Maybe I guess....but car fires are few and far between therefore not at the top off many mid lists.

[Tins]

This is why you fit a battery isolator and turn it off before you do any thing else.Any wonder he couldn't extinguish it


AM

Funny, that. In late September, 2009, my wife rang me at around 08:30 at work to say " Johnno, our house is on fire!!". What I said to her was "turn off the main switch". Why did I say that?? The house was already alight. It made absolutely no difference, and I fail to see why you would think it would in this case, AM. Ignition is not the problem, because that has already occurred, The car was ablaze. An isolator would be of no help, and might expose the car owner to life threatening risk trying to do something that is pointless.

And as for the suggestions for shovelling dirt.. have any of you actually tried that in that situation?? I have. it doesn't work when the fire is as advanced as this one, and is fuelled by the accelerant known as diesel. Don't even THINK of doing it if is petrol. You will probably die. Diesel is hard to ignite, but is harder to extinguish. Petrol EXPLODES. This guy couldn't pinpoint the source of his fire, so where does he shovel? Fires are scary, and readjust people's thinking.

Much better, as the thread title suggests, grab the vitals and run. A short run on the extinguisher, sure, but save some to stop the fire getting loose in the bush you say you love.