The joyous holiday season brings extensive cooking, sparkling christmas trees and warm nights by the heater. But with these seasonal symbols comes a greater risk of house fires. We've rounded up Apartment Therapy's favorite fire extinguishers and surprisingly they're not one size fits all.
Roundup: Fire Extinguishers
And What To Know Before You Buy
Fire extinguishers are divided into four categories based on what type of fire the extinguisher can handle.
- Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of water it holds and the amount of fire it can extinguish.
- Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish.
- Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires - the risk of electrical shock is far too great. Class C extinguishers do not have a numerical rating. The C classification means the extinguishing agent is non-conductive.
- Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory. They are for fires that involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium. These types of extinguishers also have no numerical rating, nor are they given a multi-purpose rating - they are designed for class D fires only.
Use for kitchen fires, Class B-C
Deigned to put out grease and electrical fires
Is suitable for types A, B and C fires
For small kitchen and household firesRelated Fire Prevention Posts
- How To: Use A Fire Extinguisher
- Staying Safe During The Holidays
- Preparing For Fire And Other Disasters
[Image from blmurch]
- How To: Use A Fire Extinguisher
Comments (10)
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I learned an important tip from a colleague who recently had a major fire in her home. Don't store the fire extinguisher next to the stove. Her stove caught on fire, spread to the adjacent cabinet, and she wasn't able to get to the fire extinguisher!
It needs to be handy, but not stored exactly where a fire is most likely to be.
view Lisa Hunter (Montreal)'s profile
Does anyone know what to do with an empty fire extinguisher that doesn't involve landfills?
view JJJ111's profile
Designer fire extinguishers?
Surprisingly they're not all the same?
I mean, thanks for the reminders and all, but it is definitely better to be safe than silly.
view K T G's profile
for safety equipment like a fire extinguisher, if it isn't bright red I want it in florescent green or orange. if they are going designer, they need to be designed to stick out. safety first!
view bigcityboy2's profile
KTG, you're just snarky today (I've noticed it in several posts).
Do you need a hug?
view Mrs.Mack's profile
Guess I do not. I had unfortunately believed that it was common knowledge there were different types of fire extinguishers for different likely types of fires, so it shouldn't be so surprising, but it is good to keep repeating.
Also, I am sorry but the photo is a pretty bad fire. One important thing they mentioned in the last mandatory safety lecture I attended was to aim at the base of the fire and know when you're outmatched - get out. And don't be on one side of the fire and your exit on the other. The pictured fire is extreme and requires professionals.
view K T G's profile
I would recommend using a fire extinguisher only if you have to. Last year, I caught the top of my stove on fire when I was heating oil (stupid, I know...) and the first thing I did was reach for the fire extinguisher. It worked immediately, but made the BIGGEST mess in the world. my kitchen was covered in dusty chemical junk. I had never used and extinguisher in my life, so I didn't know what to expect.
I should have used baking soda instead. :(
view idiotdogbrain's profile
Are landlords (and -ladies?) supposed to provide fire extinguishers? We have some, but they're all dusty and the inspection tags are brown and faded and haven't been filled out.
The tags say Date ___ . ___. 19 ____.
So I'm guessin' they're old.
view Lilli K.'s profile
i've always thought it was interesting that when you show house tours, i've NEVER seen a fire extinguisher. ditto for home/design magazines. never. never ever.
view loislane's profile
to prevent cooking fires, I would recommend StoveTop FireStop. it's an automatic fire suppressor, about the size of a tuna can that magnetizes underneath the vent hood. check out their website at www.stovetopfirestop.com!!!
view washington's profile