There are different kinds of fire extinguishers

by | Aug 28, 2014 | Construction and Maintenance

Fire extinguishers are recommended for everyone; in the home, office as well as the car. Should there be a fire a little quick thinking and a rapid deployment of a fire extinguisher can make the difference between minimal damage and complete destruction as well as lives saved. Different kinds of fires require different types of extinguishers, if the wrong one is used it can be potentially very dangerous; the fire may spread or you could be seriously injured or even killed. A fire extinguisher in Tunbridge Wells is rated by fire class which makes it simple to determine if the extinguisher which is available is appropriate for the type of fire.

There are four commonly used fire extinguishers. The basic type of fire extinguisher that people would keep in the homes, office, etc is a Class A extinguisher. A Class A fire is one which involves normal combustibles which include paper, wood, cardboard and some simple plastics. A fire which is categorized as Class B involves flammable combustibles such as oil, gasoline and other petroleum products. Class C fires are electrical in nature. Class D fires are burning metals such as aluminium and magnesium.

A fire extinguisher in Tunbridge Wells will be labelled with one or more classes which explains to the user the type of fire it can be used on. As there are four different classes of extinguishers there are also four different materials used in them to extinguish the fire.

A water based extinguisher is the least expensive and the most commonly used. This device is filled with water under high pressure and is normally used on Class A fires. A water filled extinguisher must not be used for flammable liquid fires or electrical fires.

Foam and dry chemical extinguishers are also commonly employed although they are more expensive to purchase. Of the two foam is most expensive but it is also considerably more versatile. This type of fire extinguisher is filled with an aqueous film forming foam and is pressurized using nitrogen. These chemical foam extinguishers can be used for both Class A and Class B fires but not electrical.

A dry chemical fire extinguisher is multi-purpose as it can be employed on Classes A, B and C fires. This type of dry chemical extinguisher is also kept under pressure using nitrogen.

A CO2 fire extinguisher uses carbon dioxide to smother the fire, this is excellent for use on electrical fires as well as Classes A and B and some liquids.

The type of fire extinguisher in Tunbridge Wells that is used depends upon the situation. When buying one the user should use his or her knowledge of what kind of fire most probably will be encountered.

To protect your home and business from the devastating effects of fire, order your fire safety equipment from Sapphire Security in Tunbridge Wells. Visit them online!

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