When staying in your caravan, your safety is paramount and not something to be ignored. Just one way that you can work on improving this is by having a fire extinguisher on board.
We tend to pay attention to installing devices such as smoke alarms, carbon dioxide monitors and extinguishers in and around our homes, and regularly check on then as the months go by.
Yet, when it comes to the caravan, it may surprise you to learn that many caravanners forgo such vigilance, with many refusing to contemplate even getting a fire extinguisher for their van.
Unfortunately, caravans are small boxes packed with various flammable materials which can go up in seconds – especially when there’s gas present. The possibilities are not even worth thinking about.
Though we can’t stress enough the importance of consulting an expert about what exactly you need for your own individual caravan, we do think that having a caravan fire extinguisher is a good starting point – as opposed to having nothing at all in your van!
At Caravan Helper, we do not recommend pulling your caravan off that drive or out of your storage unit until you have this most straightforward but most crucial of life-saving pieces of equipment in your van.
A low-cost outlay and easy to pick up online, please ensure you make this top of your shopping list, and most certainly not one of those items that you keep telling yourself you’ll get around to buying someday.
Table of Contents
Six Fire Extinguishers We Think are Good for Caravans
A lightweight aluminium fire extinguisher, the AA BC powder model is an easy to use product which comes complete with a plastic fixing bracket.
This is a UK manufactured model which has a controlled discharge and claims to be one of the easier of extinguishers to operate.
It is suitable for small fires classed as B and C. This includes flammable gas, flammable liquids, and those electrical risks.
This means it can be used to put out fires that have been started by leaded or unleaded petrol, diesel, gas, oil, solvents, paints, greases, gaseous flames and those fires sparking from electrical faults.
However, it’s worth noting here that it won’t be suitable for the Class A type fires and those started by deep fat fryers.
Offering some great features, this has a discharge range of two to three metres, super quick discharge time of nine seconds and a five-year manufacturer warranty as standard.
Entirely manufactured to BS EN ISO standards and boasting a BSI Kitemark, this is a handier and more portable of lightweight fire extinguishers at just 950g in total, making it great for use in the caravan.
FSS UK has a great introductory offer from their exclusive fire safety pack. This is aimed at those smaller of dwellings, making it the perfect choice for the caravan.
This purchase includes a 600g fire extinguisher, a 1 meter by 1-meter fire blanket, and a first aid kit complete with 42 pieces in total!
The fire extinguisher sold here is a dry powered and multi-purpose one, which is easy to use and small enough to be the more compact of choices for keeping in your caravan.
A 600g model, it has a more effective extinguishing formula, making it ideal for spraying around the base of potential small minor fires. This will help to repel the flames and therefore avoid an expansion.
This extinguisher is primarily designed with the intentions of dealing with those more minor fires of all types.
A European CE Standard certified item, the extinguisher comes complete with an easy slot in bracket to hold it in place when not in use.
Additionally, the fire blanket is a great addition alongside the fire extinguisher, with the first aid kit always coming in handy at some point throughout the caravanning life!
FireShield PRO sell a dry powder extinguisher which also comes complete with a bracket, aiming to make it easy to place wherever you want to throughout the caravan.
A 2kg model, this is a Kitemark appliance which is BS EN3 and CE approved and certified.
Offering protection against fire types such as Class A, Class B, and Class C, it is from perhaps one of the more widely recognisable and trusted brands on the market.
This industry trusted and respected company also boasts of high quality and indeed reliable products; which is what you should always be on the lookout for when purchasing items such as fire extinguishers.
Simple to use, it offers a quick and direct spray right out of the nozzle, should it ever be needed.
Another FSS UK product and yet another introductory offer, this time it’s a combined package of a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket.
With the intention of supplying those smaller of areas, such as the caravan, this is a dry powder extinguisher. It is therefore ideal for use on all Class A fires, that is wood, cloth and paper, Class B type fires, those flammable liquids, and Class C fires, such as gases, as well as electrical fires.
This is a multipurpose application extinguisher which offers a corrosion resistant finishing and an internal polyethylene lining.
A CE approved and Kitemark appliance, it also comes complete with a five-year guarantee as standard.
Though it has the benefit of a stand, it does not come with a mounting bracket.
An easy to use and low-cost maintenance item, this extinguisher is also a lightweight one and has the benefit of controlled discharge when in action.
Better still, you can even choose to have your fire extinguisher in a specific colour here from black, red, silver and blue!
As well as the fire extinguisher itself, you’ll also receive a 1 meter by 1-meter fire blanket which is a great addition when adding as a caravan safety kit.
If your preference is for a fire blanket, rather than an actual fire extinguisher, then this FireSheild purchase may just be the one for you.
Fire curtains are usually chosen by those caravanners that either do not have the relevant space for the more awkwardly shaped of fire extinguishers, or those who would rather place their safety choice up on the wall.
This is a hard case fire blanket with measurements of 1.2m x 1.2m.
A Kitemark item for quality assurance, it is one of the more accessible products to remove when an emergency occurs.
Ideal for use in every caravan, this 200g weighted cloth offers an element of flexibility and durability combined.
Certified with a five-year warranty, here you simply pull the tab to remove the blanket and cover the burning material, in question.
Featuring a hole in the back to allow you to place it quickly onto the wall via a picture hook or screw, it is a reliable safety choice and ideal for adding next to the kitchen area of your caravan.
Final Thoughts on Caravan Fire Extinguishers
We hope this article has opened your eyes a little to the sheer importance of having a fire extinguisher of some sort in your caravan.
As you can see, it’s clear that these products won’t cost the earth, and therefore, there’s no excuse not to carry one in your caravan.
In addition to merely purchasing an extinguisher, we also like to emphasise the importance of maintaining them as well as checking them regularly.
This is especially important if you’ve had your caravan in storage for some time now or have had a lengthy gap between your last trip.
Make it a habit to check the overall appearance and level, perhaps adding this crucial job to that all important to do list. That way, you ensure that the fire extinguisher you buy isn’t just there to look decorative, but perhaps one day could just save your life.