There are four types of fire extinguishers and each one is designed for a different class of fire. In the previous fire extinguisher post, I mostly was talking about Class A and Class B fire extinguishers because those are the types of fires more commonly found in the home.
Class A extinguishers are designed to put out things like paper and wood, the types of fires most commonly found in offices, bedrooms, etc. The numerical rating on the extinguisher itself is a measure of how much water is in the extinguisher and how much fire it will extinguish.
Class B extinguishers are best used in the kitchen as they are designed to be used on flammable liquid fires, where water will be ineffective. In fact, using a water extinguisher (Class A) on a flammable liquid fire will do more harm than good, it will spread the fire as most flammable liquids are not water soluble (like oil and gasoline). The numerical rating on Class B extinguishers is meant to explain the amount of square feet of fire a civilian will probably be able to extinguish.
Class C and D extinguishers are the least likely to be used in the home. Class C is designed to be used on electrically energized fires and the extinguishing agent will not conduct electricity. Throwing water on an electrical fire is extremely hazardous as the live electricity can travel through water. Class D extinguishers are very specific in that each one is designed for a particular type of flammable metal, so you’ll have many different varieties of Class D extinguishers.
For example, the First Alert Twin Value Pack Fire Extinguishers mentioned in the prior post about having a fire extinguisher in the house is rated at 1-A: 10-BC.
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