Be careful of ... blanket ... statements, Otto. I was there and saw firsthand Mike Roache save my truck by using a hand held fire extinguisher to put out a gasoline-fueled fire in my engine compartment. Not disputing fire blankets -- great things. Just don't say fire bottles are worthless in a real fire. I *had* a real fire that was about to destroy my freshly painted fire truck (and if you think painting a pickup is expensive, try a fire truck) and a "worthless" fire extinguisher saved the day and the truck.
And to further drive home my point ... I was also there the day in Quantico, VA when a thunderstorm ripped the wings off a Cessna and it impacted the ground about 30 yards from me. I got on the phone to Crash Crew while my classmate and fellow Marine Jimmy Tadlock ran to his truck, grabbed his fire extinguisher and ran back to the wreckage to put out the fire before it consumed any evidence the investigators needed to figure out what was, actually, pretty obvious. Sure, he didn't save any lives (nothing could have saved the three guys in that airplane) but Lt Tadlock and his trusty fire bottle preserved the crash scene.
