Fire Extinguishers: Simple Safety
Fire extinguishers are the first line of defense in the event of a fire, largely due to their accessibility and portability in any space. Per NFPA, your fire extinguishers are required to be inspected monthly and maintained annually, keeping your facility safe and compliant. Portable extinguishers should be readily available in all areas of your facility, especially in the kitchen or cooking areas, electrical panels or closets, chemical storage areas, trash areas, restrooms, and other locations with a high risk of fire.
Fire extinguishers are classified by type and rating, and it can be difficult to know where to start when selecting the proper type to fit your needs. Encore can perform an evaluation of your facility and identify the specific types of fire extinguisher with the proper rating to best suit your needs. Below is a quick reference:
Fire Extinguisher Ratings
- Class A — Used for paper, wood, cloth, or other common trash fires
- Class B — Used for fires caused by petroleum, gasoline, oil, paint, propane and butane
- Class C — Used for fires caused by active electrical devices, fuse boxes, wiring, computers, and electrical sources
- Class K — Used for kitchen-based fires, which account for nearly 8,000 eating and drinking establishments report a fire in the kitchen each year
Types of Extinguishers
Encore sells, installs, services, tests, and inspects all makes and models of fire extinguishers in accordance with NFPA 10.
- Dry Chemical Hand Portables — These units use a dry chemical to smother and insulate combustible materials. The most common type of fire extinguisher, multipurpose ABC, fall into this category.
- Wet Chemical Hand Portables — These units use a liquid saponifying agent to create a chemical reaction that suffocates grease fires. Commonly referred to as Class K, these units are supplemental to kitchen fire suppression systems as required by NFPA 17A (Standard for Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems).
- Clean Agent Hand Portables — These units use a gaseous agent to deplete oxygen around a fire, and are intended to leave minimal residue, thus extinguishing the fire and limiting damage to expensive equipment that ordinary liquid or powder extinguishers may cause.
- Stored-Pressure Water Hand Portables — Ideal for Class A fires involving common combustibles, this model allows for easy, cost-effective recharging.
- Wheeled Portable Extinguishing Units — These units are for larger hazards, usually used in commercial facilities with el5mb_6h20_lgevated hazards. They are equipped with a long hose and are mounted on a wheeled cart to allow for easy transportation of extinguishing agent quantities. These units can contain any type of extinguishing agent, Dry Chemical, Wet Chemical, Clean Agent and Foam.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you own or operate your own business, you need fire extinguishers. But you don’t have to be an expert on them. Call our service team today today to get answers to these common questions and to have your building set up with a recurring test and inspection schedule:
- How many fire extinguishers do I need for my building?
- What are the different types of fire extinguishers?
- How long do fire extinguishers last?
- How often do my extinguishers need to be inspected?
- Oval Brand Fire Products – An innovative new trend in fire extinguishers. Patented oval-shaped design allows walls to remain at standard depth when extinguisher cabinets are required.
- Amerex Hand Portable and Wheeled Fire Extinguishers – Compliance and specialty types of extinguishers are available to protect your unique assets and special hazards.
- BADGER Class D Stored Pressure Dry Powder Hand Portables – Used for combustible metal fires, this model uses a special blend of sodium chloride-based dry powder agent that crusts over and smothers metal fires