How To Exercise Proper Fire Extinguisher Safety #HelpfulHowTo

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How To Exercise Proper Fire Extinguisher Safety


Before the advent of the modern fire extinguisher, fires that started in one room of a building were a lot more likely to spread to others, consuming everything in their path, and causing huge amounts of property damage, not to mention a greater potential for loss of life.

While these handy safety tools are incredibly useful at putting out small fires before they become big ones, their use isn't always completely safe in all situations. It's important to understand a bit about how these life-saving gadgets work in order to be as comfortable with using one to put out a fire as possible, if that time ever comes.

What's Inside A Fire Extinguisher?

Most everyone has seen a fire extinguisher at some point in their lives, and it's safe to say that the vast majority of people have at least a basic understanding of how to use one. If there's a fire, the pin in the side of the nozzle is pulled, the hose is pointed at the flame, and the handle is squeezed.

When you use an extinguisher, no matter what the reason, the fire suppressant that comes out does so under tremendous pressure. For most extinguishers that operate by static gas compression, the gas is usually either inert nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. Both can serve their purpose by denying a fire of the oxygen that it needs to continue burning, putting it out very quickly.

While nitrogen is one of the gasses that exists in normal atmospheric mix, and is essentially harmless to people, carbon dioxide is not something you want to have an abundance of in a confined space. This is one reason why it's important to ventilate any indoor area that you've used an extinguisher in, but only after the fire has been put completely out.

Carbon dioxide can also get very cold when it moves rapidly from a compressed state. While this adds to its effectiveness as a fire retardant, it means that it can be somewhat dangerous to fire a stream of it directly at a person. The only circumstance under which this would be acceptable is if that person was literally on fire.

Routine Pressure Checks

It's a fortunate truth that commercial and residential fires are a relatively uncommon occurrence, and as a result, fire extinguishers can sit unused for years before they're ever actually needed. Still, it's important to periodically make sure that they're in working order, and that they'll be ready to function properly at a moment's notice if they're ever needed.

One of the ways fire departments in municipalities all over the world make sure this happens is to recommend getting an extinguisher pressure checked every two to three years by someone who is licensed in dealing with pressurized gas delivery systems. Some larger fire departments may provide this service for you in some cities, either for free, or for a very small fee.

Commercial properties, such as hotels and motels, are often required to do this by law, as the safety of their guests is one of their most important responsibilities. For everyone else, it just makes for good housekeeping, and good common sense.


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