Fire Extinguishers Revisited

Not much has changed since 1988, when the Foundation first tested fire extinguishers. There was quite a bit of déjà vu going around as we set up the tests in the same place that the original tests had been done.

The Coast Guard minimum requirements have not changed and the way fire extinguishers are rated follows the same standards. Our recommendation from 1988, to have tri-class (1A:10BC) fire extinguishers onboard your boat, and to have more than the Coast Guard requirements still stands as our best advice. But what's different this time around you ask? Why go to the trouble to test fire extinguishers again?

One word - VIDEO. This time we captured every second of every fire on video to show you exactly what you can expect if you ever have to use a fire extinguisher. Never before have we been able to bring you this close to the action of fighting a fire on your boat. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a 30-second video must be worth a library.

Ruth Wood (now President of the Foundation) in 1988 stands back 6 feet as she prepares to put out a fire.

In 2009, the BoaUS Foundation captured on video eighteen inexperienced volunteers putting out fires as well as observations from our resident expert.