Andrey Voronov, executive director of Yarpozhinvest (which occupies about 50% of the Russian automatic fire extinguisher market), told socialbites.ca that a five-year-old car fire extinguisher will most likely fail during a car fire.
“There are legal requirements for fire extinguishers to be refilled and serviced every five years. In fact, the fire extinguisher will continue to work, but the gunpowder will go stale, turn into stone and go out with difficulty, ”explained Voronov.
According to him, theoretically the extinguisher can continue to work even after a period of 5 years, but the specific terms depend on the quality of the powder poured into it and the humidity of the air pumped into the extinguisher.
The penalty for the absence (or unsuitability for use) of a fire extinguisher, as well as a first aid kit, is imposed in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Driving a vehicle in the presence of malfunctions or conditions in which it is prohibited to operate vehicles …”. The interlocutor remembered that the traffic police can write a protocol, the fine will be 500 rubles.
The expert stated that since the powder is based on phosphate and ammonium sulfate, which are fertilizers used in agriculture, you can safely destroy the fire extinguisher. The contents of the fire extinguisher are poured, and the cylinder itself, as a rule, is thrown away or used at home.
“Unfortunately, there are many fakes on the market – their share exceeds 30%. Such fire extinguishers are initially filled with something that cannot cope with fire – sand, talc, marble, ”Listed Voronov.
According to the law, the driver is required to carry a fire extinguisher, but he pointed out that this will not be enough in case of fire.
“If the car catches fire, it will be nearly impossible to put it out with a single fire extinguisher – especially if a fire breaks out in the engine compartment. I carry a larger fire extinguisher with me – not two, but four kilograms, ”added Voronov from Yarpozhinvest.
Former Anti-Theft Specialist saidwhether a working car can be stolen if the owner has left the chip key.