Fire Extinguisher Training

It is extremely important that a person is sufficiently trained in the use and handling of a fire extinguisher before attempting to a fight a fire. A competent person should be able to easily identify what type of fire extinguisher is suitable for a particular type of fire, the limitations of portable fire fighting equipment, proper fire fighting techniques and be able to handle the extinguisher confidently in a controlled manner.

AssessCo can effectively train you on these principles in our fire extinguisher training segment of the fire warden training course.

Fire Extinguishers and Fire Classes

In accordance with the standard BS EN3, fire extinguishers in the United Kingdom and all over Europe are red and a band or circle of a second colour indicates the content of the fire extinguisher - and the class of fire it can be used on.

There are six fires classes recognised in the UK. Each class of fire has a different type of fuel.

Class A fires are fires where the combustible substances are organic solids such as paper and wood.
Class B fires the combustible substances are liquids.
Class C fires involve flammable gases.
Class D fires involve metals
Class E fires involve live electrical items.
Class F fires the combustible substances such as cooking fat or oils.

Type	BS EN 3 Colour Code	Fire Class
Water	Signal Red	A
Foam	Red with a Cream panel above the operating instructions	A	B
Dry Powder	Red with a Blue panel above the operating instructions	A	B	C	E
Carbon Dioxide CO2	Red with a Black panel above the operating instructions	B	E
Wet Chemical	Red with a Canary Yellow panel above the operating instructions	A	F
Class D Powder	Red with a Blue panel above the operating instructions	D

The capacity of fire extinguishers are established according to the class of fire using numbers and letters such as 13A, 55B.