It's easy to look at fire extinguishers and think that they're a one-size-fits-all solution. In fact, fire extinguishers come in a wide range of designs, and they're also divided into six different classes. The decisions you make about buying and maintaining them are dictated more by the needs of your location than anything else. Here's what you should know, whether you are acquiring one or need to have one serviced.
Classes of Fire Extinguishers
A Class A fire extinguisher is one that's designed to handle basic requirements, such as putting out fires involving clothing, wood, papers, or items made of plastic. This is the fire extinguisher you might keep around the house near the kid's room, for example.
Class B fire extinguishers are intended to put out flammable liquids. This includes products like gasoline and motor oil, so a Class B model is one you might have in your garage.
The Class C extinguishers are intended for dealing with electrical fires. You'd use these anywhere you might be concerned about fires caused by wiring or appliances, such as a computer room.
There is also a Class ABC extinguisher. As you might guess from the name, these models are meant to perform all the functions of the Class A, B, and C models. While somewhat more expensive, they make a great choice if you intend to have only one fire extinguisher on hand.
Class D is a special class that's designed for dealing with flammable metals and some extreme forms of chemicals. You likely won't encounter the Class D model unless you work in a laboratory or certain types of manufacturing plants.
The final model is the Class K. This group of fire extinguishers is meant for use in working kitchens, and they're meant to suppress fires caused by grease, cooking oils, and other materials that can spread quickly and stick to surfaces.
Maintaining Fire Extinguishers
Make a point to buy a model that has a pressure gauge on it so you can verify that it's still ready to use. Pressure can be lost due to anything from leaks in the valve to microfractures in the tank. Also, parents may find that their kids might use a fire extinguisher and never tell them about it, meaning that they think they're prepared for a fire when they actually aren't. You don't want to learn this right when you need the fire extinguisher most. If your system does need to be recharged, a fire extinguisher services company can help.
Share
