Isop 2008

There is no doubting that fire extinguishers save lives and protect property and equipment from potential damage but how many of us actually know that there are a variety of different fire extinguishers and not all of them are suitable for a fire that we may face at some point. So, without question, it is certainly worth learning which extinguisher is suitable for which fire. Let’s just take a quick look at the CO2 fire extinguisher in this particular blog post. CO2 stands for carbon dioxide and this means that instead of water or foam, the CO2 extinguisher actually contains the gas, carbon dioxide. When used, the gas discourages combustion and so helps to smother the fire potential. However, because carbon dioxide is present, great care should be taken when using an appliance such as this. While you might be used to identifying extinguishers as red, it is important to note that there are distinguishing features that help us to know what is what in the world of the fire extinguisher. If you see an appliance at work, look out for a coloured panel above the instruction set near the top and in the case of the CO2 extinguisher there should be black panel sitting above the instructions that clearly identifies this as a carbon dioxide version. They should never, ever be used on fires that involve burning wood or paper or even cloth. These sorts of fires should really only be tackled with water or foam extinguishers. They are generally used to tackle fires involving flammable liquids or the fires which may have been caused by electrical currents.