We have all seen fire extinguishers around our facilities as well as in the home. Have you ever taken the time to actually look at the extinguisher to see what type it is? Do you know if you have the right extinguisher for the potential threats that may be present? Do you know what the letters and symbols on the extinguisher mean? Let’s take a minute to review.
Using the wrong type of fire extinguisher can be more hazardous than not using a fire extinguisher at all. Take a few minutes to inspect your extinguishers every month. There is a tag hanging on the fire extinguisher for you to initial and date when these inspections occur. Have a professional inspect you fire extinguishers annually.
If you are not trained in the proper use of fire extinguishers and their capabilities, DO NOT attempt to fight a fire. Alert any persons in the area of the fire, sound a fire alarm system, evacuate the area and call 911.
Some great websites I have found as resources for fire extinguishers are the Hanford Fire Department out of Washington State, FireExtinguisher.com, and Fire-Extinguisher101.com. All three sites are interactive and provide great explanations for the different types of fire extinguishers to have on hand depending on your needs, as well as answering questions such as where fire extinguishers should be located. If you have any suggestions for fire extinguisher resources, please feel free to share them with us.
Thank you for this article on the ABC's of Fire Extinguishers. Check out our new safety information blog: Blog4Safety.com, which has also featured an article to help understand the proper use of fire extinguishers.
Posted by: Pat Brownlee | January 27, 2009 at 03:34 PM