The importance of Fire Extinguishers

Author: onetimearticles | Posted: 20.07.2012

Fire extinguishers and fire safety signs are a legal requirement in many buildings and can help to save lives. They tend to be required in places where activities are carried out that present fire hazardous such as factories where machinery is operated and places handling flammable chemicals etc.

They are also intended for any place that has lots of electrical items running such as office buildings and retail outlets. Fires are fairly common place so having fire extinguishers and fire safety signs in your workplace are a great safety measure. Fires are common in catering environments where hot oil and food can easily set alight and get out of control.

There are a number of different types of fire extinguishers and these are placed into categories depending on their intended use. Class A fire extinguishers are designed to use on wood, paper, textiles and freely burning materials.

Class B fire extinguishers are for use on flammable liquids, petrol, diesel and spirits. Class C fire extinguishers are for flammable gases such as propane and butane, class F are for cooking oils, fats and butter and then there are fire extinguishers for electrical equipment such as computers, servers, fax machines and photocopiers.

Different fire extinguishers contain different substances and will contain CO2, foam, powder, water or a wet chemical. All premises that have electrical equipment should have a number of CO2 fire extinguishers as these are most effective at dealing with electrical fires. Investing in fire extinguishers for your workplace or even for use in the home can help prevent a fire getting out of control and stop a fire before it causes considerable amounts of damage and they can save lives.

Along with fire extinguishers workplaces are also required to have fire safety signs displayed. Fire safety signs are designed to show people where then nearest fire exit is and should be sited in clear positions along all fire exit routes. Fire safety signs are also displayed to show where fire extinguishers are kept and where fire alarm buttons are so these can be easily accessed in an emergency.

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