Portable Fire Equipment includes Fire Extinguishers & Fire Blankets. Items that you can physically pickup and move and take to a Fire to extinguish it. When Portable Fire Equipment Inspection & Testing is done Fire Hose Reels and Fire Hydrants are also tested at this time and included on the same report as they all form part of the “First Attack” response to a fire. Ie. All of this equipment can be used by anyone to combat a fire in its initial stages.
Before you can understand how a fire is extinguished, you must first understand Fire. This information can be found here.
To begin with we will look at Fire Extinguishers, the most common form of Portable Fire Equipment.
There are many different classes and sizes of Fire Extinguishers. Each class of extinguisher is best for extinguishing a different class of fire. For instance, for an electrical fire (Class E) you would not use a Water Extinguisher (Class A) you would use a Dry Chemical Extinguishers (Class A:B:E)
There are 5 main types of extinguishers:
- Dry Chemical – Class ABE or BE
- Wet Chemical – Class AF
- Foam – Class AB
- Water – Class A
- Carbon Dioxide (Co2) – Class BE
Each class has different uses and as such different application in the workplace. The most common type of extinguishers in workplaces are ABE Extinguishers, otherwise known as Dry Chemical Extinguishers. These extinguishers are a great general use extinguisher and are effective for a lot of different applications particularly office spaces and electrical switchboards.
Fire Extinguisher Guide
What type of extinguishers you need is determined by risk factors and specific rules in the Australian Standards. Compliance Services Australia can provide a free assessment of your site for compliance as well as provide information and advice of best practices to suit your needs. Contact us today on 03 9559 2777 or email us now.
For more in-depth information, including testing requirements, on Fire Extinguishers click here.