Choosing the Right Fire Extinguishers

06/27/2018

Often, someone who requires a fire extinguisher will buy an ABC fire extinguisher without giving much thought to the actual fire dangers they need to safeguard against. While purchasing fire extinguishers, you have to understand several things about extinguishers so as to make an informed choice, particularly, the fire course you need to protect against and special conditions you need to contemplate (computer electronics, for example). Get best Fire Extinguishers Service by clicking on nyc fire extinguisher

Classes of fire extinguishers

If it comes to fire extinguishers, you will find five types of fires: A, B, C, D, and K.

Class A - Fire extinguishers rated for Class A fires possess a green triangle with an"A" at the center in addition to a pictogram of a garbage can and wood burning. These extinguishers are used to put out fires for common combustibles like paper, fabric, rubber, and some plastics (materials that leave ashes when burnt, therefore, the"A").

Class B - Fire extinguishers rated for Class B fires have a red square with a"B" in the center as well as a pictogram of a gasoline can with a burning puddle. These extinguishers are used to extinguish fires for flammable liquids like gasoline, lubricating oil, gas, and lots of organic solvents found in labs (items found in barrels, and therefore"B").

Class C - Fire extinguishers rated for Class C fires have a blue circle with a"C" at the center in addition to a pictogram of an electric plug with a burning outlet. These extinguishers are utilized to extinguish electrical fires for energized electrical equipment, electric motors, circuit boards, switches, and gear ("C" for current-electrical).

Class D - Fire extinguishers rated for Class D fires possess a yellow pentagram (star) with a"D" at the center in addition to a pictogram of a burning gear and bearing. These extinguishers are used to extinguish flames from metals and metallic alloys like titanium, sodium, and magnesium.

Class K - Class K fire extinguishers are used especially for cooking fires from grease, fat, and cooking oil ("K" for a kitchen).

You can get fire extinguishers using one class rating or multiple fire course ratings (ABC or BC, by way of example).

Fire extinguishing materials

Fire extinguishers utilize different materials for extinguishing fires. When picking your extinguisher, you will need to ascertain what sort of fire you might be fighting and choose the best extinguishing material for your application.

Water: Water, or APW, extinguishers use pressurized water to extinguish fires. APW extinguishers can only be utilized for Class A fires (combustibles like paper, cloth, etc.); they cannot be used for putting out other classes of fires.

Dry compound: Dry chemicals are Utilised to extinguish A-, B-, C, or even D-type fires. They work by putting a fine layer of chemical dust on the substance that is burning. Dry chemical extinguishers are very capable of putting out fires. However, dry chemical extinguishers may be abrasive and corrosive to electronics and certain other substances.

Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide works by removing oxygen in the immediate area of the flame. Carbon dioxide extinguishers are only ever used for B (flammable liquid) and C (electric fires) extinguishers. For a computer, medical and scientific equipment, and aircraft electronic equipment, carbon dioxide is a better option compared to dry chemical extinguishers because a carbon dioxide extinguisher leaves no residue.

Metal/sand: Some class D fire extinguishers utilize metal or sand, such as sodium chloride (NaCl) or powdered aluminum alloy, to smother fires from metals and metallic alloys.

Special applications

Some fire dangers require specialized extinguishers. Here are a couple examples of those applications.

Metal or sand extinguishers are used to put out course D (metal and metal alloy) fires:

Salt (sodium chloride--NaCl) is the most commonly used material in metal/sand extinguishers. NaCl extinguishers work well with fires involving magnesium, magnesium, potassium, alloys of sodium and potassium, uranium, and powdered aluminum.

Sodium carbonate extinguishers can also be used on fires involving potassium, sodium, and metals of sodium and potassium. Where pressure corrosion of stainless steel is a consideration, this type of fire extinguisher is a much better option than a NaCl extinguisher.

Powdered copper (Cu) metal is used for fires between lithium and lithium alloys.

Graphite powder extinguishers are used on lithium fires in addition to fires which involve high-melting-point metals like titanium and zirconium.

Sodium-bicarbonate-based extinguishers are used on fires involving metal alkyls and pyrophoric liquids.

Halotron I is a fresh agent replacement for Halon 1211, which was prohibited from use because of its ozone-depleting properties. Halotron I extinguishers are used for extinguishing fires in computer rooms, clean rooms, and where telecommunications equipment or electronic equipment are present. Halotron leaves no residue and is nonconducting but is significantly more costly than carbon dioxide. It should be noted that Halotron I shall no longer be produced after 2015.

FE-36 (CleanGuard) extinguishers are another clean agent replacement for Halon 1211. FE-36 extinguishers are less toxic than Halon 1211 and Halotron I and allegedly have no ozone-depleting potential. FE-36 is also used for fires in computer rooms, clean rooms, and in which telecommunications equipment or electronic equipment are found. Unlike Halotron I, FE-36 isn't intended for phase-out.

Nonmagnetic fire extinguishers: Wherever strong connectors are in use, by way of example, closed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers (NMRSs), nonmagnetic fire extinguishers must be chosen. The powerful magnetic fields created by this type of equipment can lead to steel cylinder fire extinguishers to fly across a room with lethal force.

It is important to ensure that you have the proper fire extinguishers for your surroundings or potential fire dangers. It may be the difference between whether your fire is removed or causes a catastrophe.

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