Fire Extinguishers.

Essay by sweetindiangirl7High School, 10th gradeA+, December 2005

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Fire extinguishers seem to be an interesting & useful topic to learn about. It may help us in the future for our own safety. I chose this topic mainly because of my own interest to learn about these valuable lessons in life. There are many aspects of fire extinguishers to be known about. I know there are people, who think dealing with the device can't get easier, but there are many things they don't know about since they haven't experienced much of it in life, & in my opinion, they should still be notified.

A fire extinguisher is a portable device used to put out fires of limited size. Fire needs three things to start: air, fuel, & heat. Major causes of fires is carelessness with smoking & matches, misuse of electricity, defects in heating systems, spontaneous ignition, improper rubbish disposal, & arson.

There are basically four different types or classes of fire extinguishers, each of which extinguishes specific type of fire.

Class A contains pressurized water & is used on fires with paper, cloth, & wood. Class B contains carbon dioxide & is used on fire with gasoline, oil, paint, & cooking fat fires. Class C contains potassium bicarbonate or potassium chloride, is used on electrical fires because the chemical is non conducting agent, also used on burning liquids for a smothering action. Class ABC or combination is the most common at homes or schools. It contains a graphite type chemical, & is used as a multipurpose extinguisher. Always look at the labels to find out which type of fire the device can be used on. If you use the wrong type of extinguisher, you can endanger yourself & make the fire worse.

Extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire they can handle. This rating will...