Fire Extinguishers: Understanding the Different Classes

When it comes to home or business safety and security, it will be extremely important to understand the different classifications that are placed on fire extinguishers. The reason for this is it gives you a better idea of understanding exactly how a fire extinguisher can handle a specific type of fire outbreak. When making a decision to buy fire extinguishers online, it will be extremely important for you to understand these different classifications in order to choose one that will work the best for your situation. In this article you will discover some important information that pertains to the different types of fire extinguishers, and how they can effectively help you in providing safety and security for your home or business.

Fire Extinguisher Classifications

There are typically six different types of classifications for fire extinguishers, and they will range depending on the country you live in. What will not range is the class itself. You will find that the class of extinguisher is universal around the world because honestly, a fire is pretty much universal so why wouldn’t fire safety be as well? This brief post will focus on the two main classes of extinguishers, because they are the most commonly used an extremely sought after.

Class A Extinguisher: Solid Combustible Materials

A Class A fire will consist of everyday items such as wood, paper, cloth, or typical combustibles that are found around the home. These types of fires are extremely common because they can happen in a flash. Class A fires are typically created when something combustible comes in contact with an ignition source. This ignition source can be in the form of a lit cigarette, match, hot burner, electrical, or anything else that could potentially ignite any solid combustible type of material.

When these materials have been ignited, they can burn extremely hot. This can create a massive amount of smoke that is extremely harmful to all those that are in the vicinity or within the area that the fire is taking place. It will be important to understand that each class of extinguisher has been specifically designed to handle each class of fire. This means that you cannot use a fire extinguisher that has been developed and created for flammable chemicals or liquids on a Class A type of fire.

Class A extinguishers have been specifically designed to handle the combustible materials that are found in this type of fire, therefore they are quickly able to douse the fire and hopefully bring your heightened situation under control. When opting to buy fire extinguishers online, it will be extremely important to read all of the information on that specific website in regards to the different types of extinguishers that are available.

Class B Extinguisher: Liquid Combustibles

A Class B fire will consist of a variety of different flammable liquids such as oil, grease, butters, cooking fats, fuels, thinners, and other flammable liquids that can be found in the home. A lot of these fires are started by an ignition source that comes in contact with these flammable liquids and in turn creates a fire. These fires can quickly get out of control; therefore it will be extremely important to find the right type of extinguisher for the job.

A Class B fire extinguisher is specifically designed to handle these types of fires. This is because they are equipped with a fire retardant that will quickly smother the flammable liquid, allowing you a better chance of bringing this fire under control. Before making a decision to buy fire extinguishers online, it will be extremely important to take some important information into consideration.
Regardless of whether you are at home or you have a business you are providing safety for, you will need to remember that every situation will be different, which means the size and style of extinguisher will make a difference.

Now that you have a better understanding of the most common classes of fire extinguishers that are available, it will be important to determine your specific needs. If you’ve made a decision to buy fire extinguishers online, check all the information that is available in order to choose one that will work the best for your specific situation.

Tags: fire extinguisher

Category: Fire Extinguisher