Ask Yourself These Questions Before Buying a Fire Extinguisher for Your Home

26 December 2016
 Categories: Environmental, Blog


Fires, however small, should be put out as soon as possible to prevent disastrous outcomes. This is why it is essential to have a couple of fire extinguishers in your home. However, the type of fire extinguisher you invest in will determine whether it will give you value for your money in terms of functionality and resilience. For this reason, the following questions will help you find the most appropriate fire extinguisher for your home.

What Is the Class of the Firefighting Agent?

Fire extinguishers are often categorised into classes. Each of these classes has different ingredients or extinguishing agents designed to offer different firefighting abilities. There is a class of fire extinguishers designed for ordinary combustibles like paper or wood. Such extinguishers are often recommended for household use but are water-based, making them unideal for chemical or electrical fires. Other fire extinguishers are meant for solvent, liquid or gas fires, which makes them handy for kitchens. There is also a class of fire extinguishers specifically designed for electrical fires.

Don't be overwhelmed when choosing because the class is usually indicated on the units. However, in case of a fire outbreak, many people are likely to panic first, which means you can easily end up using the wrong extinguisher to put the fire out. For this reason, it would be a good idea to go for a multi-class fire extinguisher.

What Is the Perfect Size Fire Extinguisher?

Fire extinguishers come in different sizes and the larger the size, the higher the extinguishing capability. However, with size comes weight too. This means if you buy an extinguisher that is too large just because it is better at putting out a fire, it might be too heavy for you to use properly. Therefore, only choose a size you can handle comfortably.

What Is the Condition of the Environment in Which You Wish to Install the Fire Extinguisher?

There are some strategic locations recommended for installing fire extinguishers. Some of these include the kitchen, laundry rooms, and the garage. The condition of these locations will give you a hint on whether to choose stored pressure or cartridge operated extinguishers. Stored pressure extinguishers are usually common. They have a cylinder that contains the extinguishing agents. The cylinder is often pressurised permanently with air.

On the other hand, unlike stored pressure units, cartridge operated extinguishers have a separate gas cartridge that contains the highly pressurised air. This is where the condition of the surrounding comes in handy. If you want to install your extinguisher in a harsh environment such as your garage where the cylinder of the extinguisher is likely to be pierced, a cartridge operated unit would be the better option. This is because since the cylinder isn't pressurised, and you won't have to worry about the pressure being released explosively as is the case with stored pressure units.

Visit sites like http://www.fireprotectionservices.com.au to learn more about fire extinguishers you may wish to have in your home.


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