There are Different Types of Fire Extinguishers? Apparently Yes!

8/12/2020 (Permalink)

know your extinguishers!

You’d think that fire would only come in one flavor, but apparently that’s not the case. There are different classes of fires which describe what is being burned and how to extinguish it. With different types of fire, it’s important to be able to know how to prevent them, which types of fire are which and what you need to do to extinguish them safely. Here are the different types of fires and what extinguishers to use with each:

Class A

Class A fires consist of wood, paper, cloth, rubber and plastics. Water, foam, dry chemical, clean agent, and water mist fire extinguishers are the way to go for these fires. Each extinguisher has a different property to it that extinguishes the fire.

Class B

Class B fires are flammable liquids like gas, petroleum grease, tar, oil, alcohol, butane and many more. Extinguishers for these fires are carbon dioxide, dry chemical, and clean agent.

Class C

Class C fires entail electrical equipment that has set on fire like motors, computers, appliances, and transformers. These fires can be extinguished by carbon dioxide, dry chemical, clean agent, and water mist extinguishers.

Class D

Class D is a more rare form of fire that is caused by combustible metals like titanium, magnesium, or potassium. These fires can only be extinguished by dry powder extinguishers.

Class K

Class K fires are very common as they are caused by cooking oiled and greases like vegetable and animal fats. These fires can be extinguished with wet chemical extinguishers. Do not try to extinguish a grease fire with water because it will not work.