Should you have a fire extinguisher in your car?

MESA, AZ (Aging Untold) — A police officer and firefighter helped pull a driver from a burning truck moments after a crash and fire officials are encouraging drivers to consider keeping a fire extinguisher in their vehicles.

Video from the scene shows first responders working to free Aymee Ruiz from her truck as another driver used a fire extinguisher on the vehicle.

Isaac Thompson, with the Mesa Fire Department, said having a fire extinguisher in a vehicle can help in an emergency.

“I think it would be a very, very smart idea to have extinguishers in your vehicles, whether it’s for your own emergency or someone else’s emergency,” Thompson said.

Thompson recommends ABC extinguishers for vehicles.

“They’re kind of the extinguisher that you can use for everything,” Thompson said.

Thompson said drivers should check that their extinguisher is not expired and monitor the pressure gauge.

It’s also important to properly mount the fire extinguisher.

“We want to mount them in a place where you can easily access them but in the event of an accident they’re going to stay stationary in that mount and that they’re not going to be flying around in the vehicle,” Thompson said. “I’ve even seen some of the mounts as Velcro. Obviously, you want to use the manufacturer-recommended mount that comes with the extinguisher, as well.”

If you ever have to use the fire extinguisher, remember the word PASS:

P – Pull the pin

A – Aim at the fire

S – Squeeze the handle

S – Sweep the hose toward the base of the fire

“Keep sweeping at the base of the fire,” Thompson said.

Thompson said an extinguisher may not put out a vehicle fire entirely, but it can help buy time during a rescue.

“It may not be able to extinguish the actual vehicle fire, but it does help in the event of trying to get someone out of the vehicle, or help better those chances of rescuing someone,” Thompson said.

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