Fire extinguisher
Fire extinguishers: Keep your property safe from fire
Fire extinguishers are an absolute necessity at any place, as you never know when and where fire may break out. Nowadays, almost every office, cinema theatre, hospital and shopping mall have fire extinguishers to tackle any unforeseen accident due to fire. Some people also keep fire extinguisher at their homes.
Fire extinguishers are used for tackling small scale fires. They tend to be unsuitable for tackling large fires, where it is advisable to get the services of firefighting experts at the earliest.
Fire extinguishers segregated upon type of pressure used
There are numerous varieties of fire extinguishers that can be found in the market. The main two classifications of fire extinguishers include the stored pressure and the generated pressure extinguishers. The basic difference between the two varieties is the way the expellant is stored inside the extinguisher. In the stored pressure fire extinguisher, the expellant is stored along with the extinguishing material, whereas in case of generated pressure variety, the expellant is stored in a separate cartridge.
Fire Extinguishers segregated upon portability
Fire extinguishers can further be segregated into different types depending on their portability. There are handheld fire extinguishers, which are very light and can be easily carried by a person You will also come across wheeled fire extinguishers that are heavy and need to be carried on wheels. You can find both stored pressure and generate pressure varieties in handheld variety. The wheeled or cart mounted fire extinguishers are generally seen for generated pressure categories.
Classes of fire
Fire extinguishers are used to fight different types of fires. Depending upon the materials involved in the fire internationally, there are six classes of fire. These classes include Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E and Class F.
The Class A variety of fire involves paper, wood and other organic items. The flammable liquids are involved in the Class B type of fire. Fires that are caused due to gases come under Class C. Metals are involved in the Class D type of fire. Fires that are caused due to electrical items are classified under Class E. The fires that fall under Class F are caused due to cooking oil and fat.
Different types of extinguishers using water, foam, dry chemical powder, carbon dioxide and wet chemicals are use to fight these different classes of fires.
Proper care & maintenance
Fire extinguishers need to be inspected from time to time to see that they do work when any emergency occurs. It is also quite necessary to see to it that the fire extinguisher is maintained properly. Another thing of importance is that the fire extinguishers should be recharged immediately once it has been used. Even if the quantity used was less, it should be recharge completely prior to the next usage. If the fire extinguisher had not been used for quite a long time it should be checked to see that whether it is safe to use the fire extinguisher or not. In case of any damage the extinguisher should be replaced with a new one as earliest as possible.
Fire extinguisher should always be available in every household or office premises, as you can never predict a fire within your vicinity.
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