A Primer on Fire Extinguishers

While Halon is fairly safe compared to the alternatives, breathing it a lot can give you short-term maladies ranging from dizziness to irritation of the eyes and skin. Should you need to use the device, be sure to ventilate the cockpit after putting out the fire. It should be noted ventilating shouldn’t direct air blasts in the direction of the fire location, even if you think it’s out … you’d hate to blow air across a glowing ember and re-ignite what you just stopped.

Clint Lowe is an A&P and a pilot based in North Dakota.

For more information about portable fire extinguishers visit National Fire Protection Association at www.nfpa.org.