Everything Anyone Could Possibly Know About Dumb Fire Extinguishers Essay, Research Paper

Name: I am poo

September 27, 1999

Block 3, Davis

Fire Extinguishers

There are four different basic types of fire extinguishers. They all are used to put out fires, but each fire extinguisher is used to put out specific types of fires. Newer fire extinguishers use a picture or labeling system to tell what kind of fire they should be used on. The four basic fire extinguishers are the Dry Chemical, Halon, Water, and Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher.

The Dry Chemical extinguishers are usually rated for multiple purpose use. Most are Class A, B, and C. They contain an extinguishing agent and use a compressed, non-flammable gas to extinguish. They can be used to extinguish Wood, Paper, Gasoline, Oil, or electrical fires. A Dry Chemical fire extinguisher can be found in our lab.

The Halon extinguishers contain a gas that stops the chemical reaction that takes place when fuels burn. These types of extinguishers are used to protect valuable electrical equipment since they leave no residue to clean. Halon extinguishers have a limited range, usually 4 to 6 feet. They are mostly used on fuel fires or electrical equipment.

The Water extinguishers contain water and compressed gas and should only be used on Cordinary Combustibles fires or Class A fires.

The Carbon Dioxide or CO2 extinguishers are most used on liquid and electrical fires or Class B and C fires. The carbon dioxide is stored as a compressed liquid in the extinguisher and when it expands it cools the surrounding air. The gas disperses quickly in these extinguishers and once the fire is out it still needs to be extinguished more.

There are four basic Classes of fire extinguishers such as the Class A, B, C, and D extinguishers. Many new extinguishers can be used on different types of fires and will be labeled with more than one Class.

The Class A extinguishers will put out ordinary combustibles fires, such as wood and paper. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher refers to the amount of water the fire extinguisher holds and the amount of fire it will extinguish.

The Class B extinguishers should be used on fires involving flammable liquids, such as grease, gasoline, oil, or other liquids. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher states the approximate number of square feet of a flammable liquid fire that a non-expert person can expect to extinguish.

The Class C extinguishers are for use on electrical fires. This class of fire extinguishers does not have a numerical rating. The presence of the letter ?C? indicates that the extinguishing agent is non-conductive.

The Class D extinguishers are for use on flammable metals. There is no picture designator for Class D extinguishers. These extinguishers generally have no rating nor are they given a multi-purpose rating for use on other types of fires. There are four basic types of fire extinguishers and four classes of fire extinguishers. There should be one of these extinguishers present in your house or science lab.

Works Cited

http://www.hanford.gov/fire/safety/extingrs.htm

http://www.vbg.org/FIRE/Fire-ext.html