You will find five types of fire extinguishers commonly in use today; water, foam, powder, CO2 and wet substance. Other forms of more specialist fire extinguishers include, Halon, clean agent fire extinguisher, and specialist powder extinguishers like Class – D fire extinguishers for metal fire hazards and monnex powder. Water fire extinguishers are the most often used, the simplest, and most affordable. They can be employed to extinguish flammable solid fires like paper, wood and most regular combustible materials – also known as Class – A fires. Additives might be added to water extinguishers to increase their fire rating as well as their fire fighting capability, allowing smaller, lighter models to be used.
In addition, low freeze additives may be added to defend the water from danger of freezing in cold states – this is usually employed for caravan parks as well as unheated warehouses and outbuildings. A foam extinguisher provides class A coverage in a comparable way to a water extinguisher, but also provides coverage against flammable liquid fires, assuming a B rating. AFFF foam extinguishers are often established in areas where there aren’t any flammable liquid hazards present, but as a favorite medium to cover the class A hazards as well as to meet the flooring rating of the building.
In offices, the aerosol nozzle employed on most foam extinguishers, means it is safer if employed accidentally or unintentionally on electric fire hazards. Some foams and more recently some water extinguishers are tested to adhere to a 35kva dielectric test to certify their safety if accidentally applied on electric risks. ABC dry powder fire extinguishers might be safely utilized on fires involving electric equipment as well as flammable solids and fluids. As they cover various kinds of fire risks, they’re also called a multi-purpose extinguisher. Even though they may be used on electric fires, the powder – Mono Ammonium phosphate – shouldn’t be the first selection of extinguisher to be used on very sensitive electrical equipment, as it may cause harm to very sensitive parts as well as get deep into the inner workings of small parts causing corrosion. The first option fire extinguisher for guarding electrical equipment is the CO2 extinguisher. The primary advantage being that they’re inert, clean and for that reason leave no residue, working by depleting a fire of the oxygen necessary to continue burning. They’re also safe to use on flammable liquid fires like petrol and oil, they’re unsafe however on cooking fat fires due to their fast release which may spray hot fat and potentially spread the fire.
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