safety flares

[kezsr]

going over my equipment Friday before making first trip yesterday 5/2.Iwas talking to my son and he bought to my attention that your flares and your gun shell flares have an expiration date and have to be current.something easy to overlook,so posting this as a reminder.

[Luna Sea 5]

thats also the same for your fire extinguisher.

[ped579]

Plus with your fire extinguisher It is a good idea to take it our of the holder and read the directions.  It may sound foolish but how many people have never fired off one.  I bet half if not more have never fired off an extinguisher.

It is not as simple as pulling the pin and firing it off.  Just be sure to point the stream at the base of the fire not the middle or the top.

It is also food to fluff up the powder on the inside as well.  It is simple, just take the unit out of the holder and turn it upside down until you feel the powder plop. In smaller units it might be hare to feel this but just by tapping lightly it should loosen up the powder.  Do this about 3 or 4 times and you should be good to go.

The vibration and pounding of the boat compacts this powder and if  in case of a fire you want to use every bit of it.

If you run other types such as co2 or halon make sure it OK to use in a marine environment.

Have A safe season everyone.

Paul

[Luna Sea 5]

great info Paul, for the people who don't know.. Saftey is KEY to a long, great season.

[Last Call]

Regarding the fire extinguishers on boats, they should be professionally inspected/serviced annually.  The Coast Guard does check for this when performing a safety inspection and it will also give you the piece of mind that the extinguisher is up to date with required maintenance and testing.  I am in the fire protection industry, but this is not a sales pitch.  You would be surprised at the condition of extinguishers we have encountered.  Those with fixed engine compartment systems, they need to be inspected/tested every 6 months.

Last Call

[kezsr]

had me check my fire extiquisher,always thought good if in the geern indicating full,as there is no way to test this extinquisher,no expiration date but label reads must be taken out of service 10 years after manufacture date stamped on bottom,I'm good reads 04.thanks I wasn't aware of that.

[ped579]

Last Call, you are absolutely right.  before getting into Emergency Management I worked for Walter Kiddie and one of my duties was to teach fire extinguisher handling to large corporate factories.  One such plant was Cebia Geige with a couple of thousand employees.  Everyone had to be certified by us in order to be underwritten by their insurance company.

There is nothing more serious than a fire on board a small vessel folks.  You are surrounded by nothing but volatile compounds.

Make sure you are protected.  If your unit is out of date change it now.  What to do with the old unit?  Practice with putting out a small fire in the safe environment away from your boat.

Maybe you can talk to your marina and have one of your local fire companies use your OOD extinguishers for a demonstration.

Safe sailing everyone.

Paul

[IrishAyes]

I believe the flares have a shelf life of three years. The expiration date is marked on them. When you buy the flares, check the expiration dates. Don't get the ones that have been in the store for a year or that's a year used up already. Save your old flares and use them as spares.

I have probably had more fire extinguishers go off accidently in the trunk of patrol cars than most have set off on purpose. Point being, check to make sure the pin is secured so you don't have an accidental discharge. It does make a mess. 

Don't forget to check your PFDs also. They may look new but make sure the material is not rotted and unservicable. Have them READILY ACCESSABLE. They are of no use if stored under your seats and you need to move things around to get to them.

Enjoy the water and have a safe boating/fishing season.

[wb]

an old coastie gave me some good advice once so i pass it on---

make sure you have current flares, but keep your old ones onboard too--it is likely they are goodtogoalso. when you need them there is no telling how many you will need and a few outdated ones that work may well save your a$$.

[ped579]

 

[mboy]

Yep, keep old flares and fire them off 1st if you need to. if it doesn;t work, then just load a new one.

[rugman]

Found that out last year at a safety check at the highlands . my flares were out dated and they looked new so I thought they were good . so the next time I hit the hook they were there and I passed my test