About Fire Equipment

Fire preparedness is essential for home and workplace safety. Although knowing proper fire prevention strategies is important, this knowledge may be virtually useless if you aren't also prepared with basic fire equipment. Fire equipment may be used for preventing fires as well as for fighting them. Informing yourself about both uses of fire equipment will not only help you prevent a fire, but it will also help you should you ever find yourself in a fiery situation.

Equipment Needed

• Fire safety equipment includes the smoke and heat detectors that can alert you to the outbreak and that should be placed on every floor, in hallways and the kitchen, at a minimum, and must be checked regularly to make sure the batteries are in working order. Residential and commercial buildings should all have basic fire-fighting equipment, such as: a high-reaching ladder, a hose and a fire extinguisher (at least one per floor).
  Those living in areas with extensive brush or higher fire danger should obtain more targeted fire-fighting tools, such as a fire-swatter, an axe and a chainsaw. Axes and chainsaws are essential for cutting away burning branches in a hurry or creating fire breaks. An even better solution using these tools is cutting away branches, debris and any other dead or flammable material before a fire breaks out.

Fire-Extinguishing Equipment

• Fire-extinguishing equipment will help you fight a fire, should one break out. Some of this equipment remains in place while you fight the fire, like an overhead sprinkler system or a fire hydrant or other accessible water source. These sources get water on the flame fast, but you don't have much control over them.
  It's better if you are prepared for the fire with portable equipment. When you purchase a portable fire extinguisher, you need to be aware of what types of fires the extinguisher the device is capable of putting out. Check the rating of the fire extinguisher before you buy one. Depending on your particular circumstances you will need to consider the type of fire you are most likely to encounter. The best choice you can make is an ABC rated extinguisher. These extinguishers can be used to put out fires involving a range of flammable material, from paper to grease, plus electrical fires.

ABC Fires

• An ABC fire extinguisher relies on a dry chemical agent to combat fires, including those termed type A, B or C:
  * Class A Fire---common household combustibles (wood, paper, textiles)
  * Class B Fire---flammable liquids (gas, oils, fats)
  * Class C Fire---live electrical wiring, circuitry, motors and appliances

Considerations

• Owning the proper fire equipment is not enough. The fire equipment must be inspected and tested no fewer than two times a year. This may not apply to sprinkler systems that are electronically monitored by an internal or external supervisor. Taking the time to locate fire equipment should also occur on, at a minimum, a bi-yearly basis. Training on how to use fire equipment properly should occur both in the home and the workplace.

Warnings

• When checking your fire extinguisher, you need to make sure that it does not contain carbon tetrachloride (CC14). This material was used as an extinguishing agent in the past. It is no longer used to put out fires and is known to produce a dangerous reaction when it encounters the heat of a fire, creating a combination that produces a deadly chlorine gas. If you find that your fire extinguisher contains CC14, take it to your local fire department so it can be disposed of properly.