Having saved other rally cars in the past with the Fire Safety Stick, on the 2024 Cambrian Rally, Pete Dowds successfully saved his own!
Pete Dowds was competing in the 2024 Cambrian Rally in North Wales as part of his preparations ready for rallying in Greece in the near future.
Fortunately as it turns out, he is already a Fire Safety Stick convert, having previously helped save another car on fire with his Fire Safety Stick, back on the Roger Albert Clark Rally in 2019 – see here. Since then, he has not only two in his rally car, but also in his motorhome, home and even as part of his catering business. He bought his Fire Safety Sticks from respected rally supplier Raymond Moore from Race and Rally
Pete explained to us the rally was going well, but then during the second stage; he sensed a burning smell and smoke coming from around the engine bay. Initially, he thought he could carry on a little more, but as soon as the smoke started to creep into the cabin, he knew he had to stop and deal with it.
Like many rally drivers, he went straight for the Fire Safety Sticks first, instead of the traditional extinguisher all competitors need to carry, knowing that in cases like this, not only is it highly effective and quick to deal with that fire, but also it won’t cause any more damage to the car’s engine. And yes, almost straight away the fire was out! Apparently, the cause was believed to be leaking transmission fluid pouring onto the hot exhausts, and as a result that then caught fire.
Before the fire! Pete Dowds is one of the main contenders and sponsors for the Micra Challenge, bringing low-cost rallying with the Nissan Micra K11 cars.
Actually, the biggest concern Pete then had at that point, was the fire-fighting vapour discharge from the stick potentially impeding the vision for other passing competitors, so he tried to move the stick away from the course (as can be seen in one of the photos shown), whilst it continued with its long discharge time. Usually, we would recommend users should keep the discharging stick pointing towards the area of the fire to prevent any potential re-ignition, or even catch any small flames still present but obscured by the engine’s pipework etc. In open spaces, the vapour will very quickly dissipate away.
Having spoken with Pete just a couple of days after the incident, he told us he was pleased to say that although he had to retire from that race, the damage to the Micra was very minimal and he is still on course to be competing in Greece very soon.
Many thanks to Eimear Hyland, renowned automotive and rally photographer who just happened to be there to capture these amazing images as Peter was deploying the Fire Safety Stick, copyrighted to Eimear – please visit her website to see more her award winning images – www.eimearhylandphotography.com
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Top Tips if you need to use the Fire Safety Stick:
- Make sure you have read the instructions and understand the instructions as soon as you get it. And make sure all your team know too. It’s a little different to regular traditional extinguishers, so don’t leave it until the fire actually starts!
- Its compact and light, so make sure you keep it close to the fire risk areas so you can deal with the fire fast!
- There’s no need to get too close to the flames. Activate it from a distance and then approach the fire, all the time pointing the vapour towards the flames so it suppress the fire.
- Let the vapour from the stick engulf the flames. Don’t move the stick around too much, let the vapours do the work.
- Even after its put the fire out, keep the stick spraying its vapour onto the area for its full discharge time, to prevent any potential re-ignition.
- Don’t tackle a fire that is too big! With the Fire Safety Stick, you can potentially leave it within a confined space to continue to discharge and fill the space with the vapour thereby repressing the fire while you have escaped to safety.
If dealing with a car engine fire, release the bonnet catch, activate the stick and keeping your back to the engine bay, start to use your other hand to raise the bonnet behind you (thereby protecting your face and vision), but by just a small amount – enough to allow the stick into gap letting the vapours into the engine bay. This prevents too much oxygen into fire. Then, if it’s safe to do so, turn around and slowly raise the bonnet all the time spraying the vapours around the flames, remember not to close, let the vapours engulf the flames. Use the long full discharge time of the Fire Safety Stick to ensure the fire is completely out and not able to re-ignite.