Not only it is necessary to keep fire extinguishers in your home or office, but it’s also legally required in many states for safety purposes. At the same time, it is important to choose the right fire extinguisher types for the relevant fire class to control things between life and death. No two fire extinguishers are used to tackle all classes of fire with the same effectiveness.
Each type of fire extinguisher uses a specific material to control fire caused by different flammable materials such as wood, oil, electrical equipment, or gases. For example, you can’t use a water-based fire extinguisher to tackle fire caused by electrical equipment as it could add more risk because electricity and water don’t go together. You must have the best chemical fire extinguisher to tackle fires caused by flammable liquids, gases, burning metals, carbon-based materials, and so on.
So, when you decide to purchase a portable fire extinguisher online, the first step is to determine what types of flammable materials are present in the area to be protected. Based on this observation, six classes of fire are defined involving different substances.
· Class A: to control fire because of carbon-based materials
· Class B: to control fire caused by flammable liquids
· Class C: to control fire caused by flammable gases
· Class D: to control fire caused by burning metals
· Class K or Class F: to control fire caused by fats or cooking oil
A fire caused by electrical equipment or energized electrical sources is not assigned with any letter. If the electrical source is removed, it is served as any class of fire depending on flammable substances present in the area - (one must avoid a water-based fire extinguisher until the electrical source is removed.)
When you are aware of flammable materials that could cause a fire in your home or workplace, it becomes very easy to choose the best chemical fire extinguisher as a precautionary measure to tackle any potential fire hazard. Five main types of fire extinguishers are available in the market having one of these elements to tackle different classes of fire:
· Water: To tackle class A fire
· Foam Spray: To control fire class A and B
· Dry Powder: To Tackle fire class A, B, and C (flammable gases) and fire caused by electrical equipment
· Carbon Dioxide (CO2): To tackle fire class B and fire caused by electrical equipment
· Wet Chemical: To control fire Class F
· De-ionized Water mist: Class A, B, C, and electrical equipment
Because different fire extinguishers are used to tackle different fire classes, they are also labeled as Class A extinguishers, Class B extinguishers, Class C Extinguishers, and Class D Extinguishers. Multipurpose extinguishers will be labeled with more than one class, like A-B, B-C, or A-B-C to indicate that they can be used on different types of fires.
Now that you know which fire extinguisher you need for the safety of your property, you can head to any online hardware store to purchase a portable fire extinguisher online as per your requirements. Portable fire extinguishers are the best choice for small facilities as they are easy to store and lift in time of need.
