Fire Extinguisher Types

“Fire extinguishers? Isn’t there only one kind of fire extinguishers? If there are other kinds aren’t they for, like, some special kind of fire that only happens in some kind of factory or government building?” Believe it or not we’ve actually heard these questions before. It appears that most people have a misunderstanding about fires and the types of fire extinguishers that put them out. So allow us to introduce you to the differences and the importance of knowing which is which.

One kind of extinguisher is the APW extinguisher. APW stands for Air-Pressurized-Water. These extinguishers propel highly pressurized water out towards the fire that is taking place. These water extinguishers are only to be used against a Type A fire, which is a fire that is from paper, wood, and some plastics. Water extinguishers are fairly common and always great to have on hand for a home or an office type of work place. You can get these extinguishers at most Wal-Mart’s, Sears, or Hardware stores. You can also purchase them online at Amazon.com:

More Fire Extinguisher Types

Another type of fire extinguisher is dry chemical fire extinguishers. These are usually foam or powders that are pressurized with nitrogen. These are probably the most common type of fire extinguishers out there. Most apartments come with one already in place, offices usually have one in about every major hallway or stairwell, even hospitals have one just about everywhere you turn. This type of extinguisher is used for types A, B, and C fires. Most of the dry chemical fire extinguishers are mainly for A and B, but you can buy some that can be used for A, B, and C fires as well. As we already mentioned above type A fires are usually caused from wood, paper, and some plastics. Type B fires are gases and liquids that catch on fire such as, Gasoline, Kerosene, Grease, and Oils. Type C fires are electrical fires. Again you buy this type of extinguisher at most hardware stores. Online purchasing of this type of extinguisher is also an option.

The third most common type of fire extinguisher is the CO2 extinguisher. This is a Carbon Dioxide Extinguisher. This type of extinguisher is most commonly used for fire types B and C. The carbon dioxide extinguisher doesn’t usually work all that well on type A fires because it doesn’t replace enough oxygen. So type A fires can re-light themselves, which defeats the purpose of a fire extinguisher. This type of extinguisher is another common type, probably a close second to the dry chemical extinguishers. You can also buy this type of extinguisher at most hardware stores and online.

Reason for Different Fire Extinguisher Types

It’s wise to have a type of fire extinguisher at your home, office, summer house, beach front property, pretty much anywhere you spend a decent amount of time at and where you have valuables placed. The best type of fire extinguisher to have at home is the dry chemical extinguisher because it works well on a vast array of fires. Same goes for the office, dry chemical extinguishers work wonders for most situations, and they tend to be the cheapest of the three. If you work at a factory or a place where you are dealing with a lot of different flammable liquids and heavy equipment, we would suggest the carbon dioxide extinguisher. We suggest this because it works great for types B and C fires, and with flammable liquids and heavy equipment, those will probably be the most common types you come across. If you happen to have a beach front property, or a log cabin for camping, or if you like to go camping a lot the traditional style with tents and sleeping bags, we would suggest the air-pressurized-water extinguisher.