Choose The Right Extinguisher

Fire fighting, fire regulations and fire fighters have been recorded as early as 6 A.D. The Roman Emperor Augustus took an idea from Marcus Egnatius Rufus and created the Vigiles, a roaming group tasked to watch out for fires and respond to it with bucket brigades and pumps, as well as poles, hooks, and even ballistae to tear down buildings for immediate access. In the 17^th Century, Europe and the United States saw to the development and improvement of fire trucks. In 1678, the first fire engine company went into service headed by its captain, Thomas Atkins. From then on, fire fighting has not just been a career or profession; it turned into a passionate and committed profession.

Fires can start from various causes. It can be caused by embers from a cigarette, or sudden mixture of flammable chemicals and so much more. Each reason for every fire needs to be considered. Certain fires cannot be safely put out with just mere water. Take an oil leak for example. Fires based on oil are hard to put out with water since oil and water do not mix. Due to the ingenuity and constant innovativeness of man, various fire-extinguishing agents have been created to answer various fire causes. Electrical fire extinguishers, among others, have been developed to answer different situations. One has simply to identify the possible fire hazards on his home or office, and choose the appropriate fire extinguisher for the job. Each type of fire extinguisher is classified accordingly to specific types of fires and must abide by the governing standards for each region. A safety-conscious individual can choose from these types of fire extinguishing agents:

• Clean agents and carbon dioxide – these fire extinguishers can displace oxygen, remove heat from the combustion zone, or inhibit chemical reaction. The reason why they are called clean agents is because they leave very little to no residue. Halon, one of the agents listed in this category, however, is no longer used in Europe because of environmental reasons.
• Foams – foams are chemicals that form frothy foam when expelled out of the canister. Such chemicals are pressured inside the canister, similar to a can of shaving cream, and released at high pressure. These fire extinguishers take out the oxygen in every fire by smothering it, therefore rendering the fire useless.
• Water– Water-based fire extinguishers are used mainly to cool burning material. These types are often used for small fires. Water can also be mixed with other agents to create wet chemical fire extinguishers. Certain water-based fire extinguishers also have mist-enablers that allow water to be sprayed as a mist. This is very convenient for electrical fires wherein live electricity may jump back to the fire fighter through a steady stream of water.
• Wet chemical and water additives – a variation of water fire extinguishers, chemicals have been added to either create a soapy film that can cool the temperature of burning oil, or break the surface tension of water to make it more effective in penetrating small fires. This type is somewhat similar to the foam types but is less frothy.
• Class D – Class D fire extinguishers mostly deal with burning metal. It cools metal more effectively than water, preventing it from producing heat further and burning the area around it. Some Class D fire extinguishers cannot handle certain metals, though, especially if they have water content. Water hitting a very hot metal releases oxygen, thus adding to the burning factor. These types, compared to powder fire extinguishers, have often been much preferred when very hot metals objects are involved.
• Dry Chemical – dry chemicals come in various combinations of chemicals. Essentially speaking, a dry chemical fire extinguisher uses a powder-based agent to extinguish fire. Dry powder fire extinguishers, once introduced to fire, have chemicals that separate the fire tetrahedron. It separates the chemical reactions between heat, fuel, and oxygen and halts the production of fire sustaining “free radicals”, thus extinguishing fire.
• Fire Extinguishing Ball – these are also fondly called as “fire extinguisher grenades.” They are manually rolled towards the fire and automatically explode once it comes in contact with fire. A cloud of ABC dry chemical powder is then spread out to a small area, blanketing any fire it comes in contact with and extinguishing the flames. Such device was recorded during the 1800s but glass bottles were used and were thrown into the fire. Glass shards are swept away during cleanup.

Now that’s all said and done, a customer can simply pick one out that is suitable for his environment. A fire on an open air environment with an abundant supply of oxygen shouldn’t be addressed with a water fire extinguisher since it can simple scatter the flames and make it grow bigger. Dry chemical fire extinguishers are often suitable to any type of small to medium sized fires in any environment, but they do leave residues come cleanup time. Feel free to shop around. Read the health and safety signs on each canister. Check your environment as well as your budget. There are a lot of very affordable fire extinguishers available for the regular customer. Ask those in the know as to what fire extinguisher to get or how big it should be. Do not leave half-satisfied. Ask as many questions as possible to know as much as possible. In the end, it would always be the safety of our lives and the people that we love that would be our priority and main reason to get a fire extinguisher. Saving your property is just second.

Modern day technology has helped evolve and improve the various firefighting equipment that is available today. Continuous development would see more innovations in the future. Development of automated robots can help fire fighters access certain areas badly engulfed by fire that is not suitable for any human to enter. Soon, fire fighters would be able to deal with at a safe distance. This further increases the safety of fire fighters as well as the effectiveness of fire prevention equipment.