Does your car have a fire extinguisher?

In matters pertaining to safety on the road, it’s best to follow the age-old expression “better safe than sorry”. One key safety measure to take note of in your car is the location of the fire extinguisher. Nowadays, most cars come with a fire extinguisher already in place, but it’s important to know where it’s located in your car and how to use it. Gulf News spoke to a fire fighting equipment expert who shared some tips and information.

“Each car should have a fire extinguisher, of course. The type that you’ll find in your car is a dry chemical powder (DCP) fire extinguisher that weighs between one to two kilograms,” Mohammad Abdul Salam, the operations manager at Al Aman Fire Fighting Equipment Manufacturing, said.

He advises motorists to be sure they familiarise themselves with the fire extinguisher in their car, which is usually located in the trunk or under one of the car’s front seats.

He said: “Dry powder fire extinguishers all work in generally the same way, the only difference with your car extinguisher is that it’s a smaller size. To use it, you will simply have to remove the key that locks the clamps and keeps the fire extinguisher locked. Once you remove the key, press the levers together and direct the nozzle towards the fire.”

If your car doesn’t have a fire extinguisher, Abdul Salam recommends you purchase one, and it should only cost you between Dh15 to Dh35 because of its small size.

WWhile some may have concerns about the effect of heat on a fire extinguisher in the car, Abdul Salam points out that fire extinguishers produced for the Middle East are specifically made to withstand the region’s high temperatures.

He said: “A fire extinguisher is essentially a pressurised cylinder with dry powder inside it, which would normally be dangerous to store in a car under hot temperatures. However, the types of cylinders used for fire extinguishers in the Middle East are different from the cylinders used in a fire extinguisher for European countries, for example.”