Fire Extinguishers: What Type Do You Need for Your Business?
Posted on: 8 January 2016
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If you are looking for the right type of fire extinguisher for your business property, you need to be aware of the different types available from a place like The Fire Protection Specialist Company Pty Ltd first. Each type of fire extinguisher is appropriate for a certain type of fire, based on the classifications. These include Class A, Class B and Class C fires. Here are some different fire extinguishers within these three classes of fires.
Class A
The first type of fire extinguishers are appropriate for class A fires. Class A fires have to do with paper, trash, and wood materials. Plastics are also included in class A fires. The fire extinguishers often use a chemical called monoammonium phosphate for these types of fires. One type of fire extinguisher you should get for these items is a water an foam one, which helps to remove the heat element from the fire. It can also separate the different elements. This extinguisher should only be used on class A fires. Another extinguisher appropriate for this type of fire is the water mist extinguisher, which also helps to remove the heat element. It can also work for class A fires, though is most often used with class A.
Class B
Class B fires have to do with different types of liquids, particularly flammable liquids. This might include a fire caused by kerosene, paint, gasoline, or oil. When you hear the term "grease fire", they are talking about a class B fire. As you might know, regular water can't put out a grease fire, which is why water-based fire extinguishers won't be useful. A good type of fire extinguisher for a liquid fire is a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. This helps to remove the oxygen element that is worsening the fire. This fire extinguisher can also be used on class C fires. Another extinguisher to consider is the clean agent fire extinguisher, which uses halon agents to disrupt the chemical reaction of the fire.
Class C
The last main type of fire is a class C ire, which occurs as the result of electrical equipment. If you have a lot of electrical equipment and machinery in your business, you need to have a class C fire extinguisher. One example is the dry chemical fire extinguisher, which can help disrupt the chemical reaction of electrical equipment fires. This is a good multi-purpose fire extinguisher that also works on class B fires. However, it is the best extinguisher you can get for this type of fire.