Question:
I have an old Co2 Fire extinguisher called "The Firewand" made by Titan Distributing Co., Inc. Buffalo 4 NY. It is a pair of cylinders about 24 inches long and 2 inches in diameter with a 7 inch nozzle on one end. They were hung in the home from a small metal box with a flower on the cover. You lifted the front of the box and removed the cylinder and rotated the nozzle end to open it and let out the CO2. Can any one tell me how old these might be? They still have CO2 in them! The cylinders do not have any markings at all on them.

Answer: I'd still regard a domestic CO2 extinguisher as being unusual, and commercial ones arrived gradually from the '60s. Up to the 1950s, carbon tet was almost universal, then dry powder came in for domestics and finally halon (particularly for kitchens). In recent years, AFFF has replaced halon, because of the ozone layer concerns. The trouble with CO2 is that it isn't much good at putting out fires ! You need a large heavy extinguisher to have much chance with anything. OTOH, carbon tet and halon can extinguish a bad kitchen fire with one small extinguisher. If you find the really old glass globe extinguishers, they're carbon tet and highly sought after.