Choosing Fire Extinguishers
Identify the type of materials in the area
| Class A: |
SOLIDS such as paper, wood, plastic etc |
| Class B: |
FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS such as paraffin,
petrol, oil etc |
| Class C: |
FLAMMABLE GASES such as propane, butane,
methane etc |
| Class D: |
METALS such as aluminium, magnesium,
titanium etc |
| Class E: |
Fires involving ELECTRICAL APPARATUS |
| Class F: |
Cooking OIL & FAT etc |
Types of fire extinguisher
 Water Fire
Extinguishers:
The cheapest and most widely used fire
extinguishers. Used for Class A fires. Not suitable
for Class B (Liquid) fires, or where electricity is
involved.
 Foam Fire Extinguishers:
More expensive than water, but more versatile. Used for Classes
A & B fires. Foam spray extinguishers are not recommended
for fires involving electricity, but are safer than water if
inadvertently sprayed onto live electrical apparatus.
 Dry Powder Fire
Extinguishers:
Often termed the ‘multi-purpose’ extinguisher, as it can be used
on classes A, B & C fires. Best for running liquid fires (Class
B). Will efficiently extinguish Class C gas fires, BUT BEWARE,
IT CAN BE DANGEROUS TO EXTINGUISH A GAS FIRE WITHOUT FIRST
ISOLATING THE GAS SUPPLY. Special powders are available
for class D metal fires.
Warning: when used
indoors, powder can obscure vision or damage goods and
machinery. It is also very messy.
 CO2 Fire Extinguishers:
Carbon Dioxide is ideal for fires involving electrical
apparatus, and will also extinguish class B liquid fires,
but has NO POST FIRE SECURITY and the fire could
re-ignite.
Wet chemical
Specialist extinguisher for class F fires.
For Metal Fires: A
specialist fire extinguisher for use on Class D fires - metal
fires such as sodium, lithium, manganese and aluminium when in
the form of swarf or turnings.
Colour Coding
Prior to 1st Jan 1997, the code of practice for fire
extinguishers in the UK was BS 5423, which advised the colour
coding of fire extinguishers as follows:
Water - Red
Foam - Cream
Dry Powder - Blue
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - Black
Halon - Green
(now 'illegal' except for a few exceptions such as
the Police, Armed Services and Aircraft).
New extinguishers should conform to BS EN 3, which
requires that the entire body of the extinguisher be coloured
red. A zone of colour of up to 5% of the external area can be
used to identify the contents using the old colour coding shown
above.
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