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Fire Extinguishers

Fire Extinguishers are necessary for you as it saves lives and property by putting out or controlling small fires before they become large and dangerous. They are also required by law in many occupancies for fire safety reasons. They can also reduce the amount of pollution caused by smoke and burning materials. Order 2005 states that the responsible person should ensure "appropriate fire fighting equipment" is provided.

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Types of Fire Extinguishers

Know more about what each type of fire extinguishers are used for and choose the one perfect for your needs

Foam

Label Colour : Cream

Foam fire extinguishers are used to tackle Class A and B fire types, commonly used on solids and flammable liquids like paints or spirits. You should never use this type of extinguisher on cooking oils and fats that catch fire as it risks spreading the fire and injury to the user because of the violent reactions involved.

You might find foam extinguishers in offices, apartment buildings, hospitals or even retail environments.

Water

Label Colour : Red

Water fire extinguishers are the most commonly recognised, but is only designed to tackle Class A fires involving organic materials – that includes things like textiles, wood, card and paper and even coal. Never use a water extinguisher on an electrical fire, as it creates an electrocution hazard. You should also not use this extinguisher on cooking oil and fat fires.

Water extinguishers are ideally suited to offices, retail, hospitals and schools where there will be a variety of materials.

Carbon Dioxide

Label Colour : Black

Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers are perfect for electrical fires since they don’t create any further risk – they’re also suitable for Class B fires. CO2 extinguishers should not be used on chip pan fires or fat fires.

This extinguisher type is great for any premises with a lot of electrical equipment such as offices, server rooms or IT and call centres.

Wet Chemical

Label Colour : Yellow

While suitable for Class A fires, wet chemical extinguishers are the only type you can safely use on cooking fires that involve oils and fats (Class F fires), as the mist works to cover the liquid and cool the fire without risk of splashing. Most wet chemical fire extinguishers should not be used on petrol fires, however, at LW Safety we can provide wet chem extinguishers to use on Class B fires.

For obvious reasons, this type of extinguisher is best suited to kitchens, canteens and restaurants where cooking is taking place.

Dry Powder

Label Colour : Blue

Dry powder fire extinguishers cover a range of fire types, including Class A, B, C and electrical fires. This means they can tackle a number of different fire types, including gas fires, organic solids and even liquids such as paint. You should never use this extinguisher type on chip pan fires, and since powder inhalation is dangerous, it should not be operated in small, confined spaces. Powder extinguishers for use indoors should be evaluated by a health and safety assessment due to the fact they can also compromise vision.

Suited to a wide range of businesses, you might expect to see these used in gas manufacturing plants, auto centres and boiler rooms.

Fire Blankets

A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish small fires and prevent fire in some cases. It consists of a sheet of fire retardant material that is placed over a fire in order to smother it. They can be used for different purposes such as welding, cooking, camping etc.

Fire blankets can be made of different materials like fiberglass, wool, cotton etc. for different kinds of applications.