Quote:
Originally Posted by SoberGuy
Fire extinguishers have their pros and cons. Remember, not just any fire extinguisher will do. Make sure you get one specifically for the room it will go in. Grease fires and kitchen fires have their own needs, so pay attention to what you buy. Make sure it’s easily accessible, and readily available if you do decide to get one. Wall mounts are great, but in your home, there’s not much need to have a nice little box with a glass cover. Simple brackets are fine, unless of course your kids like to play pranks… Fire extinguishers loose their charge periodically, so you either need to get it recharged or replaced. Having a fire extinguisher does no good if it’s from the 70’s or has no charge. Annual checking is a minimum, every 6 months is recommended.
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thank goodness i keep my homework for a few years... here is a paper i wrote while in the academy on fire extinguishers. i edited it somewhat to remove some of the technical mumbo jumbo, and to take away information we really dont need (ie: how to use a pump-action hard shell backpack in a grass fire)
Fires in themselves come in various classes.
Class A fires are ordinary combustibles – wood, paper, cloth, plastics and rubber. These can be put out with water, water-based foams, or multi-purpose dry chemicals. Since the general purpose of this thread is for our herp rooms, water or water-based would be ideal.
Class B fires are flammable and combustible liquids, gasses and greases – gasoline, propane, ethanol, and Crisco. Please note: pressurized gasses should never be extinguished unless you know the source as been turned off!! As long as it is burning, you know where the gas is! These are generally put out with pressurized CO2, dry chemicals and / or foam.
Class C fires are the ones we really need to worry about
: they involve ENERGIZED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. The use of water is strongly advised against, as electrical current will flow through water and to you. The best and most effective way to fight this type of fire is to TURN OFF or DISCONNECT the electrical power source. This will then change the fire class to A, B, D or K, which can then be dealt with accordingly.
Class D fires are one of the most volatile and dangerous fires to fight. They are combustible metals and combustible metal compounds. These are metals such as magnesium, lithium, sodium, and potassium. Water or water-based compounds should never be used, as these metals may react in a dangerous or deadly and explosive way. There are different extinguishing materials for each metal. Chances are, if you are going to need an extinguisher for a Class D fire, you will already know which extinguisher you need. The last, and most recently added class is
Class K. These are kitchen fires and are similar in nature to Class B fires, except that they burn at much hotter temperatures, and have different characteristics. Class K extinguishing agents are generally a wet chemical.
Now that we know about the different types of fires, lets look at the different types of extinguishing agents. Please note: the use of the incorrect extinguisher on a fire CAN BE worse than the use of no extinguisher at all. Water is the most commonly used extinguishing agent because of its ability to absorb heat like a caffeine addict absorbs coffee. However, it can be subject to freezing. In this case, a
Loaded Stream can be used. A salt is added to the water too act as an antifreeze. Water-based foam is often used on Class B fires. The most common foams are
Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) (its almost like very thick soap bubbles…), and
Film-Forming Fluoroprotein Foam (FFFF) (please note: this is made from animal proteins, has a short shelf life, and if it is expired, smells like a cow that’s been dead for about a week).
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an inert gas and is wonderful for putting fires out, but care must be taken: while CO2 *is* an inert gas, it will still replace oxygen, and you, those around you and your animals can all VERY easily be asphyxiated. So… unless you are into that sort of thing, I highly suggest not using CO2. Dry chemical extinguishers are particles of a chemical that are propelled by a canister of highly pressurized inert gas. There are Class A, Class B and Class C dry chemical, and also a multipurpose dry chemical, which can be used on classes A-C. Wet chemicals are water-based solutions of potassium-carbonate-based chemical, potassium-acetate-chemical, potassium-citrate-chemical or any combinations of them.
{Deletes really long boring stuff about types of fire extinguishers and antiquated collector-item type extinguishers}
Fire extinguisher operation is very simple. All you do is PASS:
Pull the pin.
Aim the nozzle.
Squeeze the handle.
Sweep the base of the fire.
Please remember that if ONE extinguisher does not do the job, DO NOT USE A SECOND ONE… call your local emergency services and have the fire department come out. In-series extinguisher use is not effective, however, multiple extinguishers at the same time is more effective than one. Never, ever leave yourself with a risk of the fire circling back behind you, blocking your escape. Call the fire department instead!
MAINTAINING A FIRE EXTINGUISHER
Fire extinguishers should be checked, and given routine servicing. Periodically between servicings, you should take the extinguisher up, test its weight (does it feel lighter?) check its gauges (are they still in the green? If not, remove them from service), and check to make sure there is no physical stress, damage, dents or corrosion. After each use, and every 5-to-12 years, a hydrostatic testing is mandatory. In inspecting buildings and finding an extinguisher past its hydrostatic testing date, it should be removed from service immediately. If an obsolete or antiquated extinguisher is found, it should be taken out of service and decommissioned by a trained specialist.
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