A fire is every driver's nightmare. A fire extinguisher in the car can help prevent worse.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER - THE SAVIOR IN NEED
It is an underestimated danger: every year thousands of cars go up in flames on European roads. The most common causes are technical and electrical defects. Leaking seals, porous cables or even an incorrectly installed navigation system can be enough and the car is already on fire.

SIMPLE HELP
A fire extinguisher in the car can save lives or at least help to limit the damage. Fire extinguishers for the car are usually easy to use. However, some factors should be taken into account before buying. A powder extinguisher can in some cases cause damage to the electronics of the car and a foam extinguisher contains liquid which can freeze in the winter.

WHAT IS A POWDER EXTINGUISHER?

With a powder extinguisher you can extinguish fires of both solids and liquid substances, but you can also extinguish gas fires with it. The device is also very affordable to purchase. So you would expect everyone to choose this. Yet this is not the right choice for everyone.

BENEFITS
Inexpensive and small in size, so easy to store.

CONS
A powder extinguisher has an important disadvantage that it uses a special type of powder. This powder is harmful to electronics. This is because this powder consists of chemicals that contain salt. Salt has the annoying property that it attracts water. When you spray electronics with this powder, this is not a good idea, because water and electronics do not go well together. Powder extinguishers are therefore absolutely unsuitable for extinguishing electrical fires.

WHAT IS A FOAM EXTINGUISHER?
A foam extinguisher extinguishes solid fires and liquid fires. In solid fires, both elements of the extinguishing agent (water and foam) have an effect on the combustible material. Water penetrates the core of the fabric and thus cools the seat of the fire. The vapor of the water (steam) also expels the oxygen. With liquids, the foam forms a film layer over the burning liquid, so that evaporation can no longer take place and mixing with oxygen is no longer possible.

BENEFITS
A foam extinguisher gives little mess afterwards and does not actually cause any damage. Remains of extinguishing agent can be cleaned up with water. Foam extinguishers are less versatile than powder extinguishers; With a powder extinguisher, you can extinguish solid fires and liquid fires as well as gas fires.

CONS
A standard foam extinguisher is not frost resistant: the water in the extinguishing agent can freeze. This makes the extinguisher unsuitable for areas where the mercury can drop below zero. Furthermore, a foam extinguisher is larger than a powder extinguisher because it contains liquids.