The most common form of fire fighting equipment are extinguishers.
There are 4 classes of fires, depending on what kind of fuel is fuelling the fire.
Class A Fires – ordinary combustible materials
Class B Fires – flammable liquids or liquefiable solids
Class C Fires – gases.
Class D Fires – burning metals.
There are different extinguishers for different classes of fires:
* Water (Colour Code: Red)
Suitable for Class A fires. These extinguishers cannot be used on live electrical fire. However, they can be safely used on burning electrical equipment once the electrical supply has been isolated.
* Foam (Colour Code: Cream)
Different foams can be suitable for different classes of fires. Some contain a water-based foam and are not suitable for use on live electrical equipment. Usually foam extinguishers can be used either on Class A or on Class A & B fires.
* Powder (Colour Code: Blue)
Suitable for Class A fires – and some also suitable for Class B. Powder extinguishers not always penetrate inside spaces and it causes clogging of machinery, which might otherwise be re-usable.
* Special dry powders can be used on Class D fires.
* Carbon Dioxide (Colour Code: Black)
Suitable for Class B fires and safe and clean if used on live electrical equipment. CO2 is an asphyxiate, and great care must be taken in its use.
Vaporising Liquids (Colour Code: Green)
Suitable for Class B fires and on live electrical equipment.
