- A fire needs three things to thrive,
heat, fuel, and oxygen.
The type of fuel that a fire consumes
can change the way you fight it.
With all the different fire hazards in our home,
from paint thinner to kitchen curtains,
it's important to have a way to fight fires when they occur.
So today I'll go over a few of the common types of fires
and the fire extinguishers you'll need to handle them.
Camp fires, candles, wood burning stoves.
They all create class A fires.
These blazes feed on carbon-based organic materials,
like paper, fabric, rubber, plastic, or wood.
And because the fuel sources for these fires
are generally basic, chemically speaking,
the solution is equally simple, water.
Class A fire extinguishers contain pressurized water
with additives inside, designed to cool the fire.
You can find class A fire extinguishers
designed only for these types of fires,
or use others with combined chemicals
that fight multiple types of fires.
Next is Class B fires: flammable liquids and gases.
Sheds, workshops, and garages are full of these materials,
from gasoline, paint, and alcohols, to propane,
all of these materials are fuel needed for a Class B fire.
Class B fires are important to identify,
because water isn't effective against them.
Instead, you'll need to use fire extinguishers
with dry chemical or carbon dioxide to put out these blazes.
While you won't find many
standalone Class B fire extinguishers,
you can find ABC or BC models.
Electrical fires are known as Class C fires,
but you may also see Class E,
or simple lightning bolt markings on the label.
If your space heater, appliances,
or anything else that runs on electricity catches fire,
it's considered a Class C.
Since water conducts electricity, it's especially important
to find the right fire extinguisher.
The best fire extinguishers for these types of fires
are ABC or BC models.
Just like Class B, these extinguishers swap out the water
for dry chemical or carbon dioxide mixtures
to remove the oxygen and heat from a fire.
Class D fires aren't as common in homes,
and you probably won't see fire extinguishers for them.
Class D fires are metal-based fires
that feed from flammable materials
like aluminum, lithium, and magnesium.
These are far more common
in welding, or body shops, laboratories, or factories,
or anywhere with heavy machinery.
It's important to use
the right kind of extinguisher on these
since the power behind most of these devices
can scatter flaming metal pieces around the area, yikes.
Then finally, there's Class K for cooking oil fires.
Cooking oil burns differently from other flammable oils
that you might see in Class B fires.
Through a process called saponification,
alkaline chemicals from the extinguisher
mix with the oils and fats to form a foam
that cools the fire.
You don't need a commercial kitchen
to need a Class K extinguisher either.
If you cook or fry with oil often at home,
we recommend adding that class K to your home.
So which of these should you keep around your house?
You could find a combination of fire extinguishers
that work with class A, B, and C fires,
or just B and C fires for your garage or workshop,
and Class K fire extinguishers are best for the kitchen.
The best ones will have clear instructions
and are really easy to deploy and act fast.
Be sure everyone in your household
knows how and when to use a fire extinguisher too.
Check the description to learn more
about fire extinguishers, fire safety,
and fire prevention on safewise.com.
I also dropped a few links for resources
that we used for this video
from the NFPA and America's Test Kitchen.
Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Thanks for watching.
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Stay safe.
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