Fire extinguishing apparatus for oxy-acetylene welding assemblies

Fire extinguishing apparatus for oxy-acetylene assemblies having a welding torch provided with couplings for connection to pressurized lines extendable from a source of oxygen and acetylene and provided with manually operative shut-off valves for controlling the issuance of oxygen and acetylene therefrom and a pressurized bottle of fire extinguishing fluid having a valve assembly provided with a discharge port and a release actuator for releasing the extinguishing fluid through the port, said apparatus including:

• a. a cylinder connectable at one end to a bottle of fire extinguishing fluid over the actuator therein and connectable at its opposite end to a return oxygen line,
• b. a piston freely slidable within the cylinder adapted to be moved into operative engagement with the actuator of the bottle,
• c. a valve assembly connectable between the oxygen line from the oxygen bottle and the welding torch the valve assembly having a main passage for enabling the passage of oxygen to the torch and an intersecting passage intersecting at one end, the through passage and having at its opposite end means for coupling to the return oxygen line and a normally closed manually operated valve in the intersecting passage adapted when open to release pressurized oxygen through the oxygen return line so as to move the piston into operating engagement with the actuator to enable discharge of the extinguishing fluid from the pressurized bottle of fire extinguishing fluid,
• d. a discharge line connectable at one end of the discharge port of the extinguishing fluid bottle so as to enable discharge of the extinguishing fluid at a point remote from the fire extinguishing bottle.