safety partnership
Extinguishers
Extinguishers- The Importance of Understanding Extinguishers Types
When you encounter the word extinguishers the first thing that comes into your mind is all about fire. Fire occurs when there is heat ignition between solid matters (such as wood, papers, and fabrics) with a chemical reaction between any particles called combustive oxidation reaction. And the burning process persists as long as the four elements (heat, fuel, chemical reaction) are there.
Fires can be controlled easily when there is available active device protection to be used to immediately put out the flames. Usually smoke indicates the existent of fire and caught our attention to make an immediate action to prevent further spread to avoid such harm and destruction of our property.
Fires are classified in different ways such as the intensity of the fire, the cause of the fire and the types of combustible materials involved in the fire, which requires specific types of fire extinguishers.
Types of fires and its appropriate corresponding type of extinguishers should be used.
Types of fire and appropriate Extinguisher
A- a type of fire from wood, paper, and cloth
Water Foam
Powder Wet Chemicals
B- flammable liquids
Foam Powder
Dry Powder C02
C-electrical type of fire
Powder
Dry Powder
D- combustible metal such as magnesium
Powder
Looking back before, extinguishers were made in different colours such as water extinguishers were apt to be red, CO2 extinguisher was black. But of now all extinguishers have standard colour code of red so that it can be easier to see when there is huge smoke during fire incident.
To be able to recognize each different type is through the label on the side of the device, which match up to the traditional colour used before.
Water Extinguishers- have a red label
AFFF Extinguishers-have a cream label,
CO2 Extinguishers-have a black label
Powder Chemical extinguishers- have a blue label
Wet chemical extinguishers-have a yellow label.
Their most suitable locations
For water fire extinguishers- it suitable in home, offices, and establishment where there are woods, papers or even fabric which could catch fire
CO2 extinguishers- should be placed where electrical fire is potential
Some establishments and homes have more than 3 types of extinguishers which are very essential.