Gun debate
Via PGP, comes this from (of all places) The Daily Kos:
Do you own a fire extinguisher? Why? Are you expecting a fire? Or do you have some sort of left-over juvenile desire to play fireman, a private macho image of rushing into a burning building to save a child? Don’t you know that improperly used, a fire extinguisher can be dangerous to yourself and others? And there have been “studies” done that show people who own fire extinguishers are actually more careless with fire risks, thinking that they’ll always be able to resort to their fire extinguisher to solve the problem. Besides, firefighters are always right there when you need them, and can put out any fire for you, so there’s no point in having your own fire extinguisher.
Update: Forgot about this:
Thanks to Thib.
May 4th, 2006 at 8:19 am
Yes, I have two fire extinguishers. One is in the kitchen, a few steps away from the stove, the other near the fireplace. My city has a fire department, too. In addition, I have a loaded handgun in a suitable location in my house, even though we have a police department. I guess I’m kind of a do-it-yourself guy.
May 4th, 2006 at 8:57 am
I heard that a fire extinguisher in the home is 43 times more likely to put out a fire set accidentally or intentionally by the homeowner or a family member than it is to put out a fire intentionally set by some random arsonist the family doesn’t even know.
May 4th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Heh.
May 4th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
@ Xrlq
Hey, I heard about that study too. Wasn’t the study done with taxpayer funds by a researcher beyond reproach who refused to release his raw data?
And wasn’t the exact same study quoted at “51 times” the year before and “39 times” the year before that?