This is the type of car extinguisher you must have!
As a form of concern for the safety of passengers, Drivemate needs to provide a light fire extinguisher or APAR in your favorite car. By providing a car APAR, Drivemate can act immediately if a fire suddenly occurs in the car. That way, the damage that occurs is not too serious and does not endanger passengers and other road users.
4 Types of Car Fire Extinguisher
If you want to look for a car APAR, Drivemate must know first that there are various types of APAR available, depending on the materials contained in them. There are APARs made from water, foam, chemical powder, and even carbon dioxide. Here is a brief explanation:
1. Water-based fire extinguisher
As the name suggests, this APAR works by spraying the water contained in it at high pressure. Generally, this type of APAR is effective for extinguishing fires caused by non-metallic materials such as paper, wood, cloth and rubber.
2. APAR made from foam
Next, there is an APAR which contains Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) or a chemical which, when sprayed, forms foam. Later, this foam will be sprayed towards the fire to prevent oxygen from entering. Eventually, the fire will lose oxygen and die. This APAR can be used to extinguish fires caused by non-metallic materials or liquid materials, such as oil, alcohol and other liquid materials.
3. APAR made from chemical powder
For this type of APAR, the contents of the extinguisher are a mixture of two chemical powders called mono ammonium and ammonium sulfate. These two powders extinguish the fire by covering the burning material, then separating the oxygen from the burning material. Apart from being able to be used for non-metallic and liquid material fires, this APAR can also be used to extinguish fires caused by electrical short circuits.
4. APAR made from carbon dioxide
Finally, there is an APAR that contains carbon dioxide as a fire extinguishing material. By spraying carbon dioxide on the burning material, the oxygen will be isolated so that the fire will be extinguished immediately after running out of oxygen. This type of fire extinguisher is most effective for fires caused by liquid materials or fires caused by electrical short circuits.
Which is More Recommended?
When talking about fires that occur in cars, there are two things that Drivemates need to know. First, accidental fires generally occur because there is an electrical short circuit in a car component. Second, a fire in a car can grow when the fire reaches the gas or oil tank, which are flammable liquids.
Keeping these two things in mind, the APAR that is suitable to be used as an APAR for your car is an APAR made from chemical powder and an APAR made from carbon dioxide. These two fire extinguishers are very effective in fighting fires caused by flammable liquids or electrical short circuits. However, chemical powder APARs are more recommended because they are more versatile than carbon dioxide APARs.
What is the Ideal Size of a Car APAR?
The size of car APAR that must be available has actually been regulated in government policy, specifically Regulation of the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia Number PM 74 Article 34 Paragraph 1 of 2021. According to this regulation, passenger cars and goods cars are required to have at least one APAR with a capacity of 1 kg. Of course, there's nothing wrong if you take precautions and provide more than one APAR for your favorite car.
Where should the fire extinguisher be placed?
There are several opinions regarding where the car fire extinguisher should be placed. APAR can be placed under the driver's seat, under the passenger seat, or in the rear cabin. When choosing the location of a car APAR, the most important thing is to ensure that the position of the APAR does not endanger the driver or passengers. Then, make sure that the fire extinguisher is easy to reach when an emergency occurs. Lastly, don't let the fire extinguisher be exposed to direct sunlight when the car is parked in an outdoor location.
If Drivemate does not already have an APAR available in the car, then you should immediately provide one for the safety of Drivemate himself, passengers and other road users. Don't forget to use a car extinguisher with a multi-purpose chemical powder and place it in a place that is easy to reach, but not exposed to direct sunlight when the car is parked. Come on, increase driving safety by keeping an APAR in the car!