Fire Extinguisher

Fire is a basic necessity for survival, yet it is also the deadliest and unpredictable foe. Since the early 1800's man has looked for ways to protect home and hearth from fire related disasters and injury. It was at this time that the first fire extinguisher was patented, it was more of an explosive device that needed to be triggered by fuse to scatter the flame retarding liquid. The modern and portable ones we use was patented in 1818 to British Captain George William Manby. A fire has three elements: heat, oxygen and fuel. The heat starts it all bringing any material to the point of igniting, A fuel source supports the burning, while the oxygen sustains the fire for spreading and doing greats damage.

Since that time fire extinguishers are active safety devices that are required in the home, work place, restaurants mostly all places susceptible to fire. These are a person's first line of defense in containing fire. There are 4 types (classes) of fire extinguishers which are used for a particular type of fires. These are indicated on the cylinder as picture/labeling in the new generation extinguishers or as geometrical and letter designation in older cylinder versions.

Choosing a fire extinguishers according to its usage is best determined by the classifications.
Fire class 'A' is used for ordinary combustibles,
Fire class 'B' is used for flammable liquids and gas,
Fire class 'c' is for live electrical equipments,
Fire class 'd' is solely for combustible metals,
Fire class 'K' is for burning oils (ie. cooking oil).

Classification and fire extinguisher components are tested by Underwriter's Laboratories. This is the same body that does routine checks and evaluates a fire extinguisher according to it capability and potential ability to extinguish types of fire. Continuous checks and tests are done in UL laboratories to ensure the public' s safety and the authenticity of the extinguishers being used.

In determining such, the usage of a particular type of extinguisher is guaranteed to work. This also prevents the misuse and erroneous use of an extinguisher type which would only feed the fire.