A crash in Mesa, Arizona put this question front and center: what do you have in your car when seconds count? Driver Aymee Ruiz was pulled from a burning truck by quick-acting bystanders, and one of them used a fire extinguisher to hold back the flames before crews arrived. Mesa Fire’s Isaac Thompson said afterward that carrying an extinguisher in your vehicle is a smart move, for your own emergency or someone else’s.
The basics matter more than the brand. Thompson recommends an ABC extinguisher, which covers ordinary materials, flammable liquids, and electrical fires. Check the expiration date and the pressure gauge every few months. Mount it securely so it stays put in a crash instead of sliding around the cabin. And learn PASS: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side.
A small extinguisher may not put out a full vehicle fire, and Thompson says so. What it can do is buy the seconds that let someone escape or let a rescuer reach them. That thinking holds up here on the Suncoast, where summer heat, long trips on I-75, and packed parking lots near our beaches all come with the territory. It’s a cheap tool that could matter on the worst day. So, is there an extinguisher in your car right now, or is it still on the someday list?
