As a kid and all we never really had a smoke detector

[conuly]

because of reasons which I don't really want to get into publicly right now.

Anyway, the biggest reason appears to be resolved (yay) and so I bought a smoke/co detector yesterday. Surprisingly pricey device, and I accidentally got one that needs an electrician, so I'm returning it. But! While I was there I decided to take another step into functioning adulthood and also purchase a pair of fire extinguishers, one for the kitchen and one for the basement.

Now, the fire extinguishers have a little plastic tag around the pin stating that we remove the pin before using the device. Fair enough, but what I can't figure out is this: am I supposed to remove the plastic tag now, or does it come off on its own when I pull the pin?

Comments

[erika]

I believe you need to remove the plastic tag now or the pin won't come off.

At work we use following easy acronym to remember the steps to using a fire extinguisher correctly:
P -- Pull (pin)

A -- Aim

S -- Spray (pushing the handle together usually)

S -- Sweep (side to side to smother the fire)

[conuly]

Thanks. That's how it looked to me, but I wanted to make sure.

[offcntr]

Leave it on until you need to use. It's a breakaway plastic, so is easy to remove, but if you take it off now and knock the extinguisher over, the pin may fall out and the extinguisher discharge.

This happened at my weekly art market (we're each required to have an extinguisher in the booth), and someone ruined all her fibers product.

[conuly]

That's much more conclusive than erika's comment! Definitely taking your advice then!

[silveradept]

Relatively modern ones will have the plastic break when you remove the pin sufficiently to get the extinguisher going. Which takes a significant amount of force, last I looked at them.

[lilysea]

Which takes a significant amount of force, last I looked at them.

Gosh, it makes me wonder if there are special low force extinguishers for people with eg arthritis in their hands.

[conuly]

That is an absolutely excellent question and the answer is probably "no".

[lilysea]

I was born in 1976. The first house that I lived in that had a smoke detector was in 2001...

the law was that landlords only had to install them in brand-new-built homes, older homes were grandfathered in...

[moxie_man]

I have separate smoke and CO detectors in my house. Why? Smoke rises. CO sinks. A combo unit is not the way to go due to this. So, where would you position such a combo unit to detect both safely?

The smoke detectors are on both floors of the house. The very loud CO detector is in the basement the minimum 10 ft from the furnace. I can't put it further away than that due to the small foot print of the basement.

Fire extinguisher--the plastic tag is there to keep the pin from accidentally sliding out. In an emergency, is should be easy to break it off.

[jessie_c]

[conuly]

Yeah, but that little sliver will kill you.

[sallymn]

This is true, we had to move the one in the kitchen out to the hall. Oh well, at least we know they work.

During the bushfires this summer - I'm Australian - there was one day the smoke was so bad, even though we had all the doors and windows shut to keep it out the detectors went off twice. I guess we were lucky, there were places in Canberra they went off every day - including the office of the government's Fire Emergency department :(

[conuly]

That's why you're never supposed to put a smoke detector in a kitchen or bathroom (or very close to the doors to same).