Home Fire Extinguisher

Hopefully, there is no person amongst us who does not know the importance of a home fire extinguisher. It plays a crucial role in preventing fire from spreading further.

A fire break-out is unpredictable and can typically be classified into kitchen grease fire, car fire, electrical fire and combustible substances fire that can be caused if a lit candle is left unattended for a while.

There are different types of home fire extinguishers created for the different kinds of fire, and there are a couple of these extinguishers which are flexible enough to be used in a variety of situations.

You can decide on buying a home fire extinguisher for the furnace, kitchen, garage and other places prone to fire at home. But before telling you about the various aspects of buying a fire extinguisher, let us learn about the different kinds of fire extinguishers that exist today.

These extinguishers are specially made for the particular type of fire that they can put out. Every fire extinguisher comes with numerical ratings, which help us to know the amount of fire that it can manage. The lower the number, the less fire it can fight. Following are five categories of the different types of fire extinguishers:

Class A

• This home fire extinguisher is suitable for general flammable materials like paper, cardboard, wood and all plastics. Its numerical rating mentions water holding capacity, and the magnitude of fire this extinguisher can put out. 

Class B

• Class B fire extinguishers are made for fires where combustible liquids are involved. Those liquids include as kerosene, grease, gasoline and oil. In this case, the numerical rating quantifies the estimated square footage of fire that can be extinguished. 

Class C

• A class C fire is also known as an electrical fire, and these are caused by things such as circuit breakers, electrical appliances, power outlets, and electrical wiring. Do not use water to put out this type of fire, as water conducts electrical current. Therefore, the class C fire extinguisher includes non-conductive materials to manage the fire. This home fire extinguisher does not carry a numerical rating. 

Class D

• A class D fire extinguisher is often used in chemical research laboratories. The Class D fires are caused due to combustible metals like sodium, potassium and magnesium. They do not have a numerical rating either. 

Class K

• Class K fires involve cooking oils or fats used at home. These fires can often fall under Class B, but they also have certain different features, which caused a different class to be created for them under the US fire system. Hence, there are some type K home fire extinguishers available on the market. 

When you buy a home fire extinguisher, always opt for one that has been certified by an independent testing laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratory or Factory Manual to ensure a good quality.

For general, multi-purpose uses, there are some combination ‘BC’ and ‘ABC’ home fire extinguishers on the market which fight multiple types of fires, and are great for home use. These typically are dry chemical (powder or foam) extinguishers. Kidde, Buckeye, First Alert and Badger are some companies that offer multi-purpose home fire extinguishers starting from as low as $16.

Take a step towards protecting your family and home today, and get a fire extinguisher for your family now!