Fire Extinguishers: Which type do you need?
27th April 2021
Fire extinguishers are an essential tool that minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.
It is essential that those responsible for a property, be it commercial, industrial or residential, ensure their building is safe and properly equipped to deal with a fire.
Choosing the relevant fire extinguisher could be the difference between life and death, but how do you know which extinguisher you need?
Firstly, you should have a Fire Risk Assessment. which documents all risks and procedures when it comes to fire safety. Whether you are an employer, you rent an office, own a building, or it falls within your remit in an employed capacity, you have a legal requirement to ensure the safety of your occupants.
One type of extinguisher can’t tackle every fire, so you need to asses what materials are in the building, where the fire risks are, how dangerous they are and how they can be protected.
The types of materials are divided into six categories:
- Class A, combustible carbon-based solids eg paper, wood or textiles
- Class B, flammable liquids eg paraffin, petrol, diesel or oil (but not cooking oil)
- Class C, flammable gases, eg butane, propane or methane
- Class D, burning metals, eg aluminium, lithium or magnesium
- Fires caused by electrical equipment (indicated by an electric spark symbol and not the letter E)
- Class F, fats and cooking oils.
Then there are five main types of fire extinguishers, which are designed to tackle fires on different materials.
The types of fire extinguishers are:
- Water, water mist or water spray
- Foam
- Dry Powder – standard or specialist
- Carbon Dioxide (‘CO2’)
- Wet Chemical
Some extinguishers can be used on more than one class of material, such as Foam Extinguishers which can be used on A and B, but not on Class F, whilst Water Extinguishers can only be used on Class A but not Class F, D or B.
Sound confusing?
There are visual Fire Extinguishers Guides to remind you which extinguisher to use, though they should ideally be used by someone who has been Fire Warden Trained.
- Class A fires – water, water mist, foam, dry powder, wet chemical
- Class B – water mist, foam, dry powder, CO2, some wet chemical
- Class C – water mist, dry powder
- Class D – specialist dry powder
- Electrical – water mist, foam, CO2
- Class F – water mist, wet chemical.
The PASS acronym can help remind you of the four-step technique:
- Pull: Pull the pin to break the tamper seal.
- Aim: Aim low, pointing the nozzle or hose at the base of the fire. (Do not touch the horn on a CO2 extinguisher since it becomes very cold and can damage skin.
- Squeeze: Squeeze the handle to release the extinguishing agent.
- Sweep: Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire – the fuel source – until the fire is extinguished.
Want to be confident that you’ve got the correct equipment and procedures in place and trained personnel?
For all things fire, from Fire Risk Assessments, Fire Warden Training, Fire Alarm Commissioning, Servicing and Installation and more, contact Safeguard today.
