Every home in Sun City should be equipped with fire extinguishers. The most likely location to have a small fire that you could fight with a fire extinguisher is in the kitchen. However, a grease fire in a pan on the stove should not be blasted with a fire extinguisher. If you do that, you will blow the grease and the fire onto the wall behind the stove and possibly set the whole kitchen on fire. A grease fire in a pan should be extinguished by dropping a lid on the pan to smother the fire. This is important. This is a common mistake people make. DO NOT BLAST A GREASE FIRE IN A PAN WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER. SMOTHER THE FIRE BY COVERING THE PAN WITH A LID.
The next place you should have a fire extinguisher available is in the garage. If you have a car or a lawn mower catch fire, and the fire is small enough to fight, pick up your fire extinguisher which should be near an exit. Point the nozzle at the base of the fire and pull the trigger. Every few seconds, check the exit to make sure you have a clear path out of the garage. Do not try to be a hero. Head for the exit if the fire grows larger.
If you have a basement, you should also have fire extinguisher there. Place it near the exit. If the fire grows larger, head for the exit.
There is some maintenance required to make sure your fire extinguishers will work when you need them. Once a month, you should look at the gage on each extinguisher to make sure it is in the green. If the needle is out of the green zone you should replace the extinguisher. Every six months, you should turn each fire extinguisher upside down and tap six taps on it with a rubber mallet. This will free up the powder inside that tends to settle and clump up.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
