Help! Fire...

[Ronald C. Semone]

I had a small fire in my home yesterday that I was able to put out with a fire extinguisher (and if you don't have a fire extinguisher in your home, go out and buy one today!) without too much damage. One of the casualties was a large (4 feet x 2 feet), 55-year old cardboard Coca Cola sign (a pretty miss with a paint bucket and a Coke) which did not suffer any fire damage, but is now covered with a thin layer of fire extinguisher residue. I don't know the best way to remove the residue without damaging the sign. Should I dust it? Wipe it with a damp cloth? Vacuum it? Something else? Any ideas?

[ms.deanna]

Glad to hear you are alright and nobody got hurt. Iwould try to vacuum it first to see if it will come off like that. If not, I would wipe it with a damp cloth.

[RipCurl]

Is it one of those dry chemical extinguishers with the yellow powder? Two of my roommates had a little "episode" involving one of our extinguishers, and I believe they cleaned the powder up with damp rags and the vacuum. I'd start with the hose attachment on the vacuum. But because your sign is cardboard, I might try blowing it off with compressed air before using a wet rag.

[Squink]

Paging Lissa, and maybe some others from these threads:

early newspapers still in exsistence?
A question of conservation - books

[AskNott]

Originally Posted by Ronald C. Semone

I had a small fire in my home yesterday that I was able to put out with a fire extinguisher (and if you don't have a fire extinguisher in your home, go out and buy one today!) without too much damage.

When you do buy that fire extinguisher, make sure you mount it between the likely fire source (your stovetop, probably) and the door. That way, if you're unable to put out the fire, you won't be trapped with a fire between you and the exit.