Facts Every Business Owner Must Know

Every business must have a plan for the what-if. At ABC Fire & Safety, we’re specialists in helping you make those plans by knowing the facts about Fire extinguishers and installing, maintaining equipment’s that can put a stop to fire before it gets out of hand. 

Everyone should know facts about Fire extinguishers, whether you need a single fire extinguisher in New Jersey or you have multiple fire sprinkler systems that need maintenance, ABC Fire & Safety has the people and the expertise to ensure you’re covered. 

Fire Basics :

The first thing to know is that fire needs four things to exist:

• Fuel
• Heat 
• Oxygen
• Chain reaction

Fire extinguishers work on the principle that if we deprive the fire of at least two of these things, it will die. Usually, a fire extinguisher attacks the flame by taking away oxygen and heat. But in order to do that successfully, each fire class requires a different type of fire extinguisher.

Classes of Fire :

Categorizing the correct fire extinguisher for your company depends entirely on what class of fire you’re likely to encounter. Your needs will be radically different if you’re operating a laboratory versus running a lumber yard, for instance. And if you’re in food service, that’s a whole different set of requirements. 

Class A Fires :

Class A fires burn combustible solid materials like wood, paper, and some plastics. Usually, water suffices to put them out.

Class B Fires :

These fires burn flammable liquids and gasses. Water often has no effect or makes these worse, especially if the burning liquids are petroleum-based.

Class C Fire :

Energized electrical activity keeps Class C fires burning. Water is a very bad idea in this case because it conducts electricity. Once electrical energy is removed (that is, the power is cut), the fire is no longer a class C fire.

Other Classes :

If you’re in tech, foundry, or food service, you’ll want to pay attention to these classes of fire. 

• Class D is a metallic fire, which means metal is burning. This requires a specialized extinguisher.
• Class K refers to cooking fires, which primarily deal with burning animal or vegetable fats and oils. 

These fires require dedicated extinguishers for fire safety. Simply using a hose or bucket isn’t going to work.

Fire Extinguisher Types :

We have already discussed facts about Fire extinguishers, let’s discuss about it’s types. Don’t worry — there is a solution for all of the above and more, and ABC Fire & Safety has what you need.

The ABC powder extinguisher suffocates the fire with a fine spray of monoammonium phosphate powder.

The CO2 (or carbon dioxide) extinguisher suffocates the fire by smothering it with CO2, taking away all of the oxygen. On release, aerosolized CO2 is cold, which takes away heat too.

A wet chemical extinguisher is primarily used for class K fires. It works through chemically reacting with the burning fats and oils to produce a cold foam that effectively seals its surface and chokes the fire away.

A newer type, the water mist extinguisher uses ionized water (low to zero mineral content) and fine mist delivery to cool and smother the fire. Since this water is not conductive, it will work on class C electrical fires.

Foam extinguishers can be used on most A, B, or C class fires except gaseous class B fires.

Clean agent extinguishers usually deploy halon gas into an enclosed space, thus suffocating the fire with minimal damage to high-tech or sensitive equipment.

Maintaining Your Fire Extinguishers :

You should know that fire extinguishers aren’t just handy to keep around. They should also be checked regularly. We have what your business needs at ABC Fire & Safety. If you need a fire extinguisher inspection in NJ, call us.