Fire Extinguishers
The Right Kind of Extinguishers for Different Types of Fires

Next to the firefighter, a lot of people find the fire extinguisher as probably the next best solution to putting out fires which have more or less reached an alarming level. And why not? They seem simple, easy to use, convenient to have around in one’s house, and you can easily purchase them from any hardware store. The fire extinguishers has indeed become some sort of security blanket for a lot of people, especially those who are rather iffy and insecure about these unpredictable enemies. After all, nobody ever knows when fire will strike, so it’s always good to have a safeguard just in case.

Of course, it’s always just better to make sure that you comply with the measures of fire prevention so as to avoid the situation where you will have to use an extinguisher. These precautions involve the building of firewalls, being careful about the volatile substances stored in one’s home or building, always checking for electrical wiring which may be faulty, and complying with all the other city regulations that are prescribed for the prevention of accidents. Ultimately, you have to know how to fireproof your house or establishment to avoid the possibility.

But for those occasions where preparing the structure from fire is already too late (i.e. the structure has now been built and adding of improvements such as firewalls is no longer possible), extinguishers always come in handy. However, it is important to know that there are a lot of extinguishers out there in the market, each kind appropriate for the manner of extinguishing which you may encounter. Hence, fire extinguishers are classified into different classes. For example, there are the Class A for the usual combustible materials such as paper and wood, while Class B deal with those caused by flammable or combustible fluids such as gasoline, kerosene, and oil.

An example of fire extinguisher under Class B is the CO2 fire extinguisher. These contain highly-pressurized carbon dioxide, which is a non-flammable gas, and eliminates the oxygen, which causes the rapid growth of fire. Water pressurized on the other hand work better with common combustibles such as paper and wood, hence fall under class A. Again, remember to use the right kind as the use of wrong ones may result in increasing the growth of the fire and actually cause further damage.

Indeed fire protection is made more realizable by having the right kind of fire extinguisher in hand. Because it is not always the case that establishments are as fire proof as the authorities may want, either because of non-compliance with regulations (which of course is never excusable) or because regulations may have been enacted after the structure has been completed (which is the case for old ancestral homes), they you as a home or establishment owner must be aware of the different measures for assuring fire protection. Aside from the fire extinguisher, you should also have a fire hose whenever practicable, and whenever you can, make the necessary improvements to your building.