On Fri, 20 Oct 1995, Dennis Lloyd wrote: > MARSHAM ([log in to unmask]) writes: > > We have in our collections a blue glass fire extinquisher bottle. The > > bottle is rounded, fluted with a fairly long neck with a stopper. The > > questions we have are, how was it used? Was it thrown at the fire? And > > what liquid is in the bottle? Any assistance is gratefully accepted. > > Thanks. > > YOW!...this sounds like carbon tetrachloride...nasty stuff! Do > NOT pull the stopper on this one. Yes, the flask was thrown at the fire > and broken. The carbon tet suffocated the flames. > Dennis Lloyd. > This makes me feel really old. When I was going to Maury Elementary School in Arlington VA, our fire extinguishers were *red* glass globes (heat-sealed rather than corked) that sat in holders like miniature basketball hoops. The brass plate below said it should be thrown at the base of the flames. This was a four-story, open-stairwell structure whose wooden floors were swept daily with oiled sawdust. It's a miracle we all lived to tell the tale.... Hank Burchard * [log in to unmask] * Washington DC