howtodosite

by: Brian Ayling

Imagine that while you are on your office one night, you hear a sudden burst. What would you do? Yo go of your work place and start to find out the source. While you were exploring, a horrid smell reaches your nose. You ran towards it and see that the place has been completely worn out by fire.

Just imagine, the whole place is filled with every kind of flammable material you can think of: papers, cloth, paint and some flammable gas. What would you do? The only possible thing is to draw your weapon, that is no other than the dry powder fire extinguisher.

Well, to better understand its use, let us first take a look at the types of fire. Fire is classified into 6 different classes.

1. Class A : these fires involve flammable solids such as wood, cloth, rubber, paper, and some types of plastics.

2. Class: B: involve flammable liquids or liquefiable solids such as petrol/gasoline, oil, paint, some waxes & plastics, but not cooking fats or oils.

3. Class C: related to flammable gases, such as natural gas, hydrogen, propane and butane.

4. Class D: involve combustible metals such as sodium, magnesium and potassium.

5. Class E: fires apply to any of the materials found in Class A and B fires, with the introduction of electrical appliances. This implies electrical shock risk if a conductive agent is used to control the fire. So you must be very careful.

6. Class F: fires involve cooking fats and oils. The high temperature of the oils when on fire far exceeds that of other flammable liquids making normal extinguishing agents ineffective.

We use our dry powder fire extinguisher in this case because of several reasons. First of all, this type of extinguisher contains ABC powder or multi-purpose powder which could handle most types of fires. Specifically speaking, class A, B and C fires can be easily handled by this great tool. It is also safe to use it on burning electrical equipment which makes it one wicked fire-fighting machine. Just one type of fire extinguisher and it destroys three types of fire? Now that is something! Sound and prudent judgment should be used for placement because the powder causes a dust cloud to form making it inappropriate for residential homes (other than a domestic house), offices, hotels, and places where visibility is of utmost importance.

When using a powder extinguisher, don’t get flabbergasted by the mess it will surely cause. It is really messy, but believe me that when I say it destroys fires its power is unmatched. Do not be concerned about the mess that it would create because it would clean up easily. Speaking of cleaning up, do so quickly as it may affect some metals when it becomes damp. Finally, this type of extinguisher is painted red with a blue area at the top of the label. Usually, they need to be factory refilled and tested so it is better to just purchase a new one.

About The Author
Having specialized in the dry powder fire extinguishers trade for over 20 years, Brian now works tirelessly to promote affordable fire safety for home and for business. For more info go to http://www.essentialfiresafety.co.uk/safety/powder-extinguisher/

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