This depends on what you may mean as "Hands-on" training.

I have worked for a company that did what I consider an excellent job of
training in this area.  But it was not "hands-on" in the strictest sense
(there weren't enough fire extingusishers in our home town for that!)
It did, however, have an actual fire and it DID allow some participation
including a representative amount of hands-on with a "live"
extinguisher.  

The best way to get there is to use a CO2 extinguisher, and allow as
many people (especially "girly-girls") to shoot off a little CO2 at the
base of a flame, just to see how the thing actually operates and what it
feels like when it is used.  The basic premise is not that there is an
acccidental spill of (potentially) flammable liquid (like
methanol/ethanol)  but that there is a fire, which also may include
wood, etc. 

Another key concept is that there are different types of extinguishers,
and not all are appropriate for all fires.  If the available types are
not appropriate to the fire-stuffs, they should be changed out.

Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of
Lazarski, Peter M.
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 12:03 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Hands-on extinguisher training

I'd be interested in hearing peoples' views on hands-on fire
extinguisher training. I recently attended a seminar on laboratory
accreditation and an OSHA presenter, when talking about training and the
lab standard, mentioned yearly extinguisher training (once every three
years if fork lift trucks are in use).

My company currently has people who perform the hands on training which
we've taken advantage of in the past. (Unfortunately they've never been
interested in my idea of simulating the breaking of a container [quart
or gallon] of flammable liquid to illustrate how wide spread the
resulting fire might be.) Periodically our Safety dept. sends out a
video on fire safety which some view as a substitute for hands-on
training.

I'm trying to contact this individual for clarification.

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e-mail at the originating address. Peter Lazarski 
National Grid USA 
Chemical Laboratory, Bldg. 1 
7437 Henry Clay Blvd. 
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(315)460-2114 

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