Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Various fire extinguisher types

By Julie Lloyd


It goes without saying that every business should have a range of different fire extinguishers around the premises which can be used in case a fire breaks out. All employees should be shown where these fire extinguishers are during their workplace induction and then have regular updates about fire safety whilst working in the building.

The following are the different types of fire extinguishers which are currently available.

Class A fires contain combustible materials which have a solid fuel base so are fuelled by paper, wood, straw etc. On these types of fires standard water fire extinguishers can be used very effectively. The jet of water sprayed from the extinguisher cools the fire source and stops it from re-igniting. Water fire extinguishers should never be used on electrical fires because there is a high possibility that the user of the extinguisher will suffer an electric shock due to the conductive nature of water.

To put out Class A or Class B fires a foam fire extinguisher can be used. The foam acts as a cooling agent and covers the fire source. These extinguishers can be used on solid fuel fires as well as fires whose fuel source is oil, fat, fuel or paint.

A carbon dioxide fire extinguisher is the most effective type to use on electrical fires. The CO2 liquid works on all Class B fires including those started by solvents, oils and fats.

Powder fire extinguishers can be used on all Class A, Class B and Class C fires, they are also suitable to use on electrical equipment.

Those fires which have a hot cooking oil fuel source can be extinguished using a Class F extinguisher. These extinguishers usually use wet chemicals to extinguish the fire. A wet chemical fire extinguisher can also be used on a Class A fire as well as a Class F fire.




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