Fire Extinguishers are your first line of defense. When a portable fire extinguisher is used to fight a small, contained fire, it extinguishes the fire usually within the first two minutes – significantly minimizing death, injury and property damage. They are often the first item a fire inspector looks at when checking for compliance. That's why quality, professional fire extinguishers are important. 

• Class A: For fires involving ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber and plastics.
• Class B: For fires involving flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil, solvents and oil-based paint.
• Class C: For fires involving energized electrical equipment such as wiring, fuse boxes, circuit breakers, machinery and appliances.

For residential purposes, the most effective and least expensive extinguisher to use is an ABC Multipurpose Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher.  Either 2.5lb or 5lb units are the easiest to use because of the gross weight of the extinguisher.  Make sure you install at least one fire extinguisher on each level of your home and in the garage. 

CONDOMINIUM AND APARTMENT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

 

Most insurance carriers and municipalities require that condominium associations and apartment building owners provide fire extinguishers in the common areas of such occupancies.  A miniumum 2A:10B:C rated 5lb ABC Fire Extinguisher is normally required in each hallway on each floor of the building not to exceed 50ft travel distance from one extinguisher to the next.  In some typical three-story walk-ups with no hallways, it is recommended to place one extinguisher on each landing (one per floor) including the basement.  Each common laundry area should have a 5lb ABC Fire Extinguisher.  Common boiler rooms should have a minimum 10lb ABC Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher.  Finally, indoor parking garages are recommended to have 10lb ABC Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers within 50ft radius travel distance of one another.  

 

Fire Extinguisher Ratings

 

Class A Extinguishers will put out fires in ordinary combustibles, such as wood and paper. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher refers to the amount of water the fire extinguisher holds and the amount of fire it will extinguish

Class B Extinguishers should be used on fires involving flammable liquids, such as grease, gasoline, oil, etc. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher states the approximate number of square feet of a flammable liquid fire that a non-expert person can expect to extinguish.

Class C Extinguishers are suitable for use on electrically energized fires. This class of fire extinguishers does not have a numerical rating. The presence of the letter “C” indicates that the extinguishing agent is non-conductive.

Class D Extinguishers are designed for use on flammable metals and are often specific for the type of metal in question. There is no picture designator for Class D extinguishers. These extinguishers generally have no rating nor are they given a multi-purpose rating for use on other types of fires.

Many extinguishers available today can be used on different types of fires and will be labeled with more than one designator, e.g. A-B, B-C, or A-B-C. Make sure that if you have a multi-purpose extinguisher it is properly labeled.

This is the new style of labeling that shows this extinguisher may be used on Ordinary Combustibles, Flammable Liquids, or Electrical Equipment fires. This is the new labeling style with a diagonal red line drawn through the picture to indicate what type of fire this extinguisher is NOT suitable for. In this example, the fire extinguisher could be used on Ordinary Combustibles and Flammable Liquids fires, but not for Electrical Equipment fires.