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Fire Extinguishers
Frequently consumers in need of fire extinguishers buy an ABC fire extinguisher before really thinking about the specifics of the fire hazard they are making preparations for. When purchasing fire extinguishers, its important to know the basics to in order to make an informed decision. The main factors to consider are the fire class you want to protect against and any other special conditions.
There are five classes of fires all of which are represented by a designated letter: A, B, C, D, and K.
Class A Fire Extinguishers are appropriate for extinguishing materials that leave ash when burned. Some examples of this include, paper products, clothing and cloth, rubber and various plastics. The Class A Fire Extinguisher can be recognized by the green triangle with the letter A in the center and a diagram of a garbage can with wood burning in it. An easy way to remember this classification is A = Ash.
Class B Fire Extinguishers are for putting out fires for flammable liquids such as oil, gasoline, kerosene, and other flammable liquids that may be found in a lab or chemical factory. The Class B Fire Extinguishers have a red square with a letter B in the center and a diagram of a burning puddle of liquid. An easy way to remember this classification is B = Barrel of liquid.
Class C Fire Extinguishers are for putting out electrical fires. Electrical fires would include electric motors, circuit breaker panels, outlet boxes and switches and power tools. You can recognize this type of extinguisher by the Blue Circle with a letter C in the center and the diagram of a burning outlet and electrical plug. An easy way to remember this classification is C = Current.
Class D Fire Extinguishers are for extinguishing metal and metal alloy fires. Examples of such flammable metals are magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium as well as orgaonmetallic reagents. This is a particularly high temperature fire the react violently with water. The Class D utilized Dry Powder to put out such fires and can be recognized by the yellow star with a letter D in the center and diagram of a gear.
Finally, the Class K Fire extinguisher is commonly used for Kitchen fires. Kitchen fires often involve cooking oil, grease and fat. This extinguisher has a picture of a burning frying pan on it.
The above fire extinguishers can be found with a single class rating or multiple fire class rating such as ABC or BC.
It is very important to use the proper type of Fire Extinguishers for each of the different fire types listed above. Be sure to also inspect all Fire Extinguishers regularly.
