Fire Extinguisher Types
An integral part of your fire safety plan, Fire Extinguishers. But what are the different types of fire extinguishers and how do they work? Read our guide below to find out all you need to know about fire extinguishers and their different elements!
A fire extinguisher helps to tackle small fires in the home or workplace, stopping a fire from spreading and growing, ultimately reducing the amount of damage that the fire could have caused. They apply an agent that will essentially cool off burning heat, as well as removing oxygen so that the fire can’t continue to burn and spread. In this Keytek® Fire Doors advice page, we’ll be going through the different types of fire extinguishers, as well as important information that you need to know about fire extinguishers in case of an emergency.
What Type of Fire Extinguisher?
There are different types of fire extinguishers for different types of fire emergencies, with each of them being suitable for specific materials and solids that have been caught in a fire. The different classes of fire extinguishers are displayed with a symbol showing what they should be used for, as well as their class being clearly shown on the extinguisher too.
Class A Fire Extinguisher
A Class A Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving combustible materials, meaning paper, rubber, various plastics, wood, and cloth.
Class B Fire Extinguisher
A Class B Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving combustible and flammable liquids. This involves alcohol, gasoline, and oil-based paints.
Class C Fire Extinguisher
A Class C Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving flammable gasses, such as liquefied petroleum gas, butane, and propane.
Class D Fire Extinguisher
A Class D Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving combustible metals. This involves combustible metals such as sodium, titanium, and magnesium.
Class F Fire Extinguisher
A Class F Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving fats and oils, such as fats in commercial cooking appliances, and vegetable and animal oils. Class F Fire Extinguishers are needed where deep-fryers are, such as in restaurants.
Electrical Fire Extinguisher
An Electrical Fire Extinguisher is designed to extinguish fires involving electrical equipment.
Fire Extinguisher Colours
Fire extinguishers are divided into 5 colours to easily determine which extinguisher is the correct one for the specific fire at hand. This is standard for all fire extinguishers in terms of the legal compliance under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
1. Blue Fire Extinguisher (Dry Powders)
A fire extinguisher with a blue label is a dry powder fire extinguisher, and can be used on Fire Classes A, B and C. The dry powder is used as it coats the fuel/burning material with a thin dust layer, separating the fuel from the oxygen, as well as interrupting the chemical reaction of a fire.
What Are Dry Powder Extinguishers Used On?
Flammable liquids such as petrol and oil.
Materials such as cardboard, paper, and coal.
Electrical equipment of up to 1000 volts.
Flammable gasses such as liquid petroleum gas.
2. Black Fire Extinguisher (Carbon Dioxide (CO2))
A fire extinguisher with a black label are CO2 fire suppressers that can be used on a Class B Fire, as well as for Electrical Fires. The CO2 in the fire extinguisher suffocates the fire by displacing the oxygen.
What Are CO2 Fire Extinguishers Used On?
Electrical fires.
Flammable liquids such as petrol and paint.
3. Cream Fire Extinguisher (Foam)
A fire extinguisher with a cream label is a foam fire extinguisher that can be used on Classes A and B. The foam in the extinguisher essentially forms a blanket over the burning surface, as well as starving the fire by removing the oxygen.
What Are Foam Fire Extinguishers Used On?
Flammable liquids such as petrol and oil.
Materials such as cardboard, paper, and wood.
4. Red Fire Extinguisher (Water)
A fire extinguisher with a red label is a water-based fire extinguisher that is designed to be used on a Class A Fire, and should never be used on an electrical fire as this can caused more safety problems. A water-based fire extinguisher squirts jets of H20 at a fire, putting out the flame and preventing the material from reigniting.
What Are Water Fire Extinguishers Used on?
Textile and fabrics.
Paper and cardboard.
Wood and coal.
5. Yellow Fire Extinguisher (Wet Chemical)
A fire extinguisher with a yellow label is a wet chemical-based extinguisher that can be used on Classes A and F Fires, but primarily Class F. A yellow labelled extinguisher comes with a long lance that deploys the foam as the wet chemical is so thick that it acts as a blanket, stopping the oxygen from reacting with the fire.
What Are Wet Chemical Fire Extinguishers Used On?
Materials such as paper, cardboard, and wood.
Cooking fat.
How Often Should Fire Extinguishers Be Checked?
BS5306 guidelines recommend that a fire extinguisher is tested once per year to make sure that they are operating to the British Standard, as this means a full maintenance check.
We at Keytek® Fire Doors would advise that your fire extinguisher should be checked monthly, and the same goes for other fire safety equipment. This can just be a visual check and not a full maintenance check, but this way you are up to date with making sure that all the parts of your extinguisher are intact.
How to Use a Fire Extinguisher?
As it is important to know how to use a fire extinguisher correctly, we’ve put together an easy step-by-step guide to help you remember how to use one in the case of an emergency.
- Pull the pin while using the extinguisher away from you.
- Aim the nozzle.
- Squeeze the trigger of the extinguisher.
- Move the nozzle from side to side at the route of the fire.
Where to Place Fire Extinguishers?
A fire extinguisher should be placed in an area and position where they are always available and aren’t compromised by another object. They should be fitted on stands or brackets hung to the wall, located in places where there is a potential fire risk, such as the kitchen.
In a workplace, a fire extinguisher needs to be located by a fire alarm call point, so that the alarm can be raised when a fire has started, and then the extinguisher can be picked up and used straight away, whilst also alerting others in the building that they need to evacuate through their nearest fire door safely. It is also recommend that a fie door shouldn’t be placed more than 30m away from available reach, so that they can be accessed as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.
Read our Fire Door Regulations page for information about what is required of a fire door.
Fire Extinguisher FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about fire extinguishers!
How Do Water-Based Fire Extinguishers Work?
A water-based fire extinguisher (typically used for Class A Fires) works by cooling down the fuel source of the fire and removing heat from the fire triangle to the point where it no longer supports combustion. This is because water has a powerful cooling effect, that lowers temperatures and makes it impossible for a fire to burn and stay alight.
What Extinguisher is Best for Flammable Liquid and Electrical Fires?
The best fire extinguisher to put out a fire caused by flammable liquid and electrical appliances is a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extinguisher, which will always have a black label on it for identification. The reason why a CO2-based extinguisher works with flammable liquids and electrical appliances is because the CO2 in the extinguisher suffocates the fire by displacing the oxygen, making it ideal for fires involving Class B and Electrical.
Which Fire Extinguisher is Used for Electrical Fires?
The best fire extinguisher to put out fires caused by electrical fires is an Electrical Fire Extinguisher, as it contains liquefied gas of CO2, which smothers the flames of the fire, and cuts off the oxygen that fuels the fire and makes it spread.
