FIRE EXTINGUISHER SUCCESS STORIES
Portable Fire Extinguishers:
Laptop Bursts Into Flames, Owner Says
Laptop Was Charging
SHAWNEE, Kan. -- Firefighters
were called to a home in the 8900 block of Rene
Wednesday morning after a laptop computer burst
into flames. Paul Kupperman said his wife, Juli,
was at home reading e-mail on a different computer
when the Sony Vaio laptop computer caught fire.
"Flames started to shoot out from all different
directions," Juli Kupperman said.
She put out the fire with a fire extinguisher
and called him at work to tell him what happened.
"(The laptop) burst into flames again
while she was on the phone with me. So I dropped
the phone and called 911 and started for home.
She had it put out on the driveway by the time
everyone got here," Paul Kupperman said. Kupperman
said his laptop computer was turned off, but was
charging at the time of the fire. He said the
only damage was a smudge on the wall and fire
extinguisher dust on the furniture.
Taxi Cab controller fights his way out
of an inferno
A taxicab controller fought his way out of an
inferno after the firm was blasted with petrol
bombs in the middle of the night. The shift controller
at Network Cars in Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, who
would only identify himself as Michael, was in
the cab office at 1.45am last Wednesday when two
people stormed in and threw two petrol bombs through
a gap in the screen to the control room.
He said: "It spurted everywhere. I have never
seen anything ignite so quickly in all my life.
It was pitch black - all the lights went out.
I had to feel for the fire extinguisher through
the smoke.
"Ziggy came in and I got him to throw water over
everything that wasn't alight so it wouldn't spread.
I put the fire out myself with the extinguisher.
I kept calm because I'm laid-back anyway, but
first of all I couldn't get out, so I didn't have
much choice.
"If I would have left it, the whole building
would have been up by the time the fire brigade
came."
Police were alerted to the incident by a person
reporting it over the counter at Tottenham Police
Station. By the time the emergency services arrived,
the fire was out.
Electrical malfunction causes fire in
Oshkosh
Officials from the Oshkosh Fire Department said
an electrical malfunction is the cause of a Tuesday
morning fire at The Dog House & Pet Center, 2275
Omro Road, Oshkosh.
Firefighters responded to the fire at 9:22 a.m.
Fire department officials said the fire caused
minor damage to ceiling tiles and insulation in
the building.
B.J. Nerenhausen, co-owner of The Dog House
& Pet Center with her husband, Scott, said about
two dozen dogs, other small animals and birds
were evacuated safely from the building.
She said groomers employed at the business put
out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.
She said there were no fire related injuries.
Portable Fire Extinguisher Puts Out Grease
Fire
A fast-acting employee at the Jersey Lilly Tavern
kept a grease fire „ and damage costs „ at bay
today when a fire broke out in the kitchen, firefighters
say.
The Roseburg Fire Department responded to the
fire at the tavern around 9:30 a.m. An
employee used a portable fire extinguisher designed
for grease fires to extinguish the fire and keep
it from spreading, according to a fire department
press release.
No injuries were reported and the damage is
estimated at less than $1,000.
The fire department cautions restaurant managers
and employees to know their fire emergency responsibilities;
know where alarms and extinguishers are located;
and learn how to help evacuate customers.
Employees should also learn about their facilityÍs
fire suppression system and how to use it in case
of emergencies, according to the press release.
A kitchen should be considered a hazard area,
firefighters say. Grease accumulation on stoves
and hoods, missing knobs on burners and missing
hood system filters can lead to fires. Leaving
cooking food unattended can be dangerous and exit
ways should be kept clear.
Employees should receive on-going fire safety
training and firefighters should be called even
for small fires, according to the release.
Lucky Escape: A mother tells how she
fled her home cradling her baby after a terrifying
arson attack
Caroline McHarg, 34, and her five-month-old daughter
Catherine, who suffers water on the brain, were
woken just after midnight on Saturday at their
home in Charles Street, Boldon Colliery. Her two
bedroom flat was filled with thick black smoke
after arsonists are believed to have set fire
to paper and pushed it through her letter box.
Mrs McHarg said: "I had no time to be scared,
my first thoughts were to get Catherine out. "I
grabbed her and we ran through to the back where
we have a fire exit. "I've never had such a fright
in my life. After we went to bed about half-an-hour
later the smoke alarm started going off."
Quick-thinking neighbors, who feared
the mum and baby still inside the flat, kicked
down her front door and put out flames with a
fire extinguisher. Firefighters praised
their actions, which prevented the blaze from
spreading to a gas pipe and electricity box.
Luckily, Mrs McHarg, who moved from Kilmarnock
in Scotland, 10 years ago, and her daughter did
not need medical attention. Mrs McHarg's husband
Kevin, 36, was on night shift at the time of the
fire before returning home to comfort his family.
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