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Flame Out – Part 1 The Importance of Fire Safety Story and photos by Wayne Scraba
R acing accidents or "incidents" are things many Sportsman racers tend to dismiss. Of course, that isn’t the case for Pros (case-in-point: Funny Car racers). The worst-case scenario is fire. And fire for those folks is an absolutely serious issue. But what about a little guy car? Sure, you don’t have a nitro-methane-fueled, supercharged missile with a limited length fuse in front of you but there’s still a risk. Pretend you have a ten second bracket car. What happens if a fuel line inadvertently comes off, or a fuel pump fails and gasoline is sprayed onto a set of hot headers? What happens if this occurs at something like the thousand-foot mark on the track? How long will it take you to stop, get unbuckled and climb out of the car? In a case such as this, the elapsed time will likely be longer than you’d really like. Sure, at the first sign of trouble at a National Event, the Safety Safari is rolling. They’ll almost always get to your car before you unlatch the belts, but what happens if an accident occurs at a track that isn’t so well equipped (a good example might be where a small, limited resource track is used for a private test and tune session)?
Is This Stuff Cost Prohibitive? The next thing you’re probably thinking is: "This fire extinguishing stuff is expensive. I’d rather spend my walking around money on something that improves the performance of my car." You’re wrong. The real truth is you can purchase a very stout fire extinguishing system for under $500. And for less than $750, you can have something with a bunch of the bells and whistles. Of course, you have to consider how much you’ll lose if you inadvertently torch the car. Insurance will cover you, right? Probably not. Few, if any insurance underwriters will touch a racecar in competition with a ten-foot pole. And if they did, the cost of the policy would likely be prohibitive. Of course, this doesn’t take into consideration your personal safety. That’s something you should weigh yourself, but at least from my perspective, it should be rather important.
How Much Weight Does A Complete System Add? Then there’s the weight question. You’re probably thinking: "This equipment is too heavy. I don’t need the weight or the complexity in the car." Wrong again. The most complex, highest capacity system shown in the accompanying photos weighs 16-1/2 pounds (charged). You can get a lightweight system that weighs in the range of six pounds. And if you’re really on a weight kick, DOT-approved, high-pressure carbon fiber bottles are available. Is A Dedicated On-Board Extinguishing System Tough To Install?
What about the complexity of the system? On the activation side of the equation, you can get anything from a simple pull cable release to a system that takes it’s activation from the air shifter (CO2) bottle. In between are systems that use either a push or a pull knob. If you can hook up a throttle cable, you can install a system such as this. As far as the discharge is concerned, some of the more complex fire fighting systems use multiple discharge nozzles. The hook up is by way of an AN fitting. All that’s required is to cut, bend and flare either steel or aluminum hard line so that it can be affixed to a remote discharge outlet (more on this later). Mounting of the bottle is equally easy. Typically, an aluminum bracket is affixed to some point in the car, and the bottle is clamped to the bracket by way of aircraft-style clamps. a
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One Size Doesn’t Fit All… So what’s out there? You have plenty of choices. I’m familiar with the Safecraft lineup, so that’s what I’m using as an example. Let’s start at the top (from a cost and function perspective): RS Models: The RaceSafe RS model fire extinguishers are based upon the company’s experience with aircraft fire extinguishers (they’ve done this for 20-years). The aluminum high-pressure cylinder is U.S. DOT and Transport Canada approved and is capable of being refilled by an authorized distributor. The discharge head is machined from billet aluminum and is engineered to be actuated by either a pull cable, a push knob or (as shown in the accompanying photos) by way of pneumatic actuation. This means you can plumb the piece directly to an air shifter CO2 bottle, with a pneumatic activation switch plumbed in line (which, by the way, is a feature greatly appreciated by fuel Funny Car racers). This particular extinguisher is capable of accepting up to three separate discharge lines. This means you can run a line to the engine compartment, one to the area of the fuel cell and another in the cockpit. The extinguishers are available in 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20-pound Halon capacity with other EPA/SNAP agents available as well. All extinguishers are available in brushed or polished finish. You can also specify bottles manufactured from carbon fiber. The discharge heads are billet aluminum, and are anodized red. A unique feature of the RS is the swivel head. You simply loosen two setscrews at the base of the head, and it can be oriented to suit the application. Mounting brackets are aluminum. Several different head options are available. For a closer look at the discharge heads, mounting brackets and plumbing, see the accompanying photos.
LT Model: The RaceSafe "LT" fire extinguisher by Safecraft. is a new lightweight design that is almost a pound lighter than other models they offer. It makes use of a compact discharge head, which translates into a smaller overall package. A neat feature is the swivel head. This means the discharge head can be rotated to align the pull cable, which obviously provides flexibility when it comes to the installation. This feature is different than that found on the RS Models. In this case, you loosen a setscrew near the top and the head where the pull cable is affixed swivels (the discharge ports are stationary). The aluminum cylinder is U.S. DOT approved and is capable of being refilled. Like the top of the line RS, the discharge head on this model is machined from billet aluminum and is pull cable actuated. The extinguisher will accept two separate discharge lines (typically one in the engine compartment, and one in the passenger compartment). The "LT" model extinguishers are available in 3, 5 and 10-pound Halon capacity with other EPA/SNAP agents available as well. All three sizes come standard with a white powder coated cylinder along with a brushed aluminum anodized head. Complete installation and mounting kits, based upon your application are available.
LS Model: Safecraft's Model LS is a compact assembly that combines ingredients of the previously described LT and RS models. The Model LS uses an aluminum high-pressure cylinder that is U.S. and Canadian DOT approved and is capable of being refilled by an authorized distributor. The discharge head is machined from billet aluminum and is actuated by pull cable. The extinguisher is capable of being set up with two separate discharge lines (much like the model LT). The extinguishers in this line are available in brushed or polished finish. I should point out that LS examples are available in 5-pound Halon 1211 capacity only. Different plumbing and installation kits are available, again to suit your application. For Comparison’s Sake… The following chart shows a comparison of features between several of the above models (note that all possible configurations are not listed). All of the following are applicable to drag racing:
As you can see, there are plenty of different models to suit any drag
car (or any budget). What about the actual fire extinguishing agents? Next
issue, I’ll take a detailed look at what’s hot and what’s not. You
might be surprised to find out what really is available. In the meantime,
have a look at the photos and captions that follow. Fire extinguisher
systems are not as complex, heavy or ugly as you might have first guessed.
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