DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WRITTEN
ON THE SIDE OF A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU?
WELL, IT IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BE
FIRE SAFE.
TO BEGIN WITH, YOU CANT USE ANY OLD TYPE OF FIRE EXTINGUISHER
ON ANY OLD FIRE. EXTINGUISHERS ARE SPECIFIC TO THE TYPE OF FIRE ON
WHICH THEY ARE BEING USED.
THERE ARE FOUR BASIC TYPES OF FIRES AND WE CLASSIFY THEM AS:
A, B, C AND D.
AN A FIRE CONSISTS OF WHAT WE CALL "COMMON COMBUSTIBLES",
BURNING WOOD, TRASH, PAPER, CLOTH, PLASTIC, RUBBER AND THINGS
OF THAT NATURE.
A B FIRE IS BURNING FLAMMABLE OR COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS,
SUCH AS GASOLINE, MOTOR OIL, COOKING OIL, GREASE, KEROSENE, ETC.
A C FIRE IS BURNING ENERGIZED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, GRINDERS,
TOASTERS, MICROWAVES AND THE LIKE (IF YOU CUT THE ELECTRICITY OFF
TO A C FIRE, IT BECOMES AN A FIRE).
D FIRES ARE NOT VERY COMMON IN THE HOME. THEY CONSIST
OF BURNING METALS SUCH AS MAGNESIUM, SODIUM, ALUMINUM
AND TITANIUM, AND THE EXTINGUISHING AGENT IS SPECIFIC TO
THE TYPE OF METAL THAT IS BURNING.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE SIDE OF A FIRE EXTINGUISHER, YOU WILL SEE ITS RATING.
THE RATING CORRESPONDS TO THE TYPE OF FIRE BEING EXTINGUISHED.
SOME COMMON RATINGS ARE: A, BC, AND ABC. A GOOD HOME
EXTINGUISHER IS THE ABC TYPE. THIS SHOULD COVER ANY TYPE OF FIRE
YOU HAVE IN THE HOME.
ANOTHER THING YOU MIGHT SEE WRITTEN ON THE SIDE OF AN EXTINGUISHER
IS THE SIZE RATING. THIS WOULD APPEAR AS 10A, 60BC, OR SOMETHING
SIMILAR. THIS CORRESPONDS TO THE AMOUNT OF FIRE AN EXTINGUISHER
CAN PUT OUT. THE LARGER THE EXTINGUISHER, THE HIGHER THE NUMBER.
AN EXTINGUISHER RATED AT 5A CAN PUT OUT 5 TIMES MORE FIRE THAN AN
EXTINGUISHER RATED AT 1A, AND SO ON... THE SIZE OF THE EXTINGUISHER
SHOULD BE MATCHED TO THE SIZE OF THE HAZARD. BIG HAZARD, BIG
EXTINGUISHER. THE MINIMUM SIZE OF EXTINGUISHER REQUIRED FOR MANY
STORES AND BUSINESSES IS 2A, 10BC.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WILL SEE WRITTEN ON THE SIDE OF AN
EXTINGUISHER IS THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE. GENERALLY THE INSTRUCTIONS
WILL TELL YOU TO STAND ABOUT 10 FEET AWAY FROM THE FIRE, PULL THE PIN,
SQUEEZE THE LEVER AND SWEEP THE NOZZLE FROM SIDE TO SIDE AIMING
AT THE BASE OF THE FLAMES. YOU CAN REMEMBER THIS BY THE ACRONYM
PASS OR PULL, AIM, SQUEEZE, SWEEP. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BE FAMILIAR
WITH THE USE OF A FIRE EXTINGUISHER BEFORE YOU NEED TO USE IT.
ANOTHER THING YOU MIGHT SEE ON A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IN A STORE OR
PUBLIC BUILDING IS A TAG TELLING WHEN AND BY WHOM THE EXTINGUISHER
WAS LAST SERVICED. IN CALIFORNIA, COMMERCIAL EXTINGUISHERS NEED
TO BE SERVICED BY A LICENSED COMPANY ONCE A YEAR OR WHEN DISCHARGED.
THE LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR HOME EXTINGUISHER BUT IT IS PROBABLY
A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK THEM PERIODICALLY AND REPLACE OR SERVICE THEM
AT LEAST EVERY FEW YEARS. DONT FORGET TO REPLACE OR SERVICE THEM
AFTER YOU HAVE OCCASION TO USE THEM. A SPENT EXTINGUISHER, LIKE
A NON-WORKING SMOKE DETECTOR, DOES ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD.
A FEW LAST WORDS ABOUT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR
USE ON FIRES IN THEIR INCIPIENT OR BEGINNING STAGES. THE BEST RULE
TO FOLLOW IS CALL 911 FIRST, OR HAVE SOMEONE CALL 911 AS YOU TRY TO
PUT THE FIRE OUT. IF YOU CANT PUT THE FIRE OUT HELP WILL BE ON THE WAY,
AND IF YOU ARE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH IT, WELL... THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
DOESNT MIND RESPONDING TO A FIRE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PUT OUT.
REMEMBER, DONT LET THE FIRE GET BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR EXIT
(KEEP YOUR BACK TO THE DOOR).
NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE FIRE, AND EVEN IF YOU WERE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH IT,
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE NOTIFIED.
WE CAN CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FIRE DIDN'T START ANY HIDDEN
FIRES INSIDE THE WALLS.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT... ALL THAT INFORMATION WRITTEN ON THE SIDE
OF A FIRE EXTINGUISHER REALLY DOES MEAN SOMETHING. SOMETHING YOU
SHOULD READ NOW RATHER THAN BEFORE YOU NEED TO USE IT. IF YOU HAVE
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT FIRE EXTINGUISHERS OR ANY OTHER FIRE RELATED
TOPIC, STOP BY ANY SUTTER COUNTY FIRE STATION, OR CALL US.
WELL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.