It is important that you have your fire extinguishers serviced each year: it is a legal requirement. Both the Home Office and Fire Rescue Services recommend all extinguishers be approved to the European Standard BS EN3. By law, in the UK all extinguishers must be serviced and compliant with BS 5306-10 (formally BS 7863) colour coding code of practice.

Each type of fire extinguisher has a colour code on its labelling, to clearly define what type of extinguisher it is, and to aid in clear identification for quick and fast decisions to be made by the user, e.g, water = red, foam = cream, carbon dioxide = black, etc etc.

When purchasing a fire extinguisher, there are several different factors to take into account, such as the area covered, and what the potential risks are e.g is it for a workshop/kitchen/farm building etc., as different fire extinguishers are used for different hazards and risks.

The main types of fire extinguishers used are:

Water :- Best for combatting Class A fires such as fires involving organic / solid materials e.g. wood, cloth, fabric, paper etc. It is to be noted these are not safe to use on electrical risks or flammable liquids such as fuels/oil etc.

Powder :- This can be used for multi purposes such as wood paper, fabrics, oils, fuels, and flammable gases such as Butane and electrical fires.

Foam :- This is a multi-purpose extinguisher that can be used for items such as wood, fabric, but also flammable liquids, such as petrol and diesel. It is to be noted that they are not suitable to be used with oils.

CO2 :- This is predominantly used for electrical fires.

Wet Chem :- This is designed for cooking oil fires only.

Fire Blanket :- These are used to smother a fire, by cutting off the oxygen supply, e.g. a pan fire in a kitchen.

This is purely for information only, and not every circumstance and risk is covered. For any purchases, a fire risk assessment is generally recommended, depending on your specific requirements.

For more information please call 07885 349169 / 01258 817984