POUR WATER!

picture taken somewhere in Ibadan, Nigeria showing a fire man and fire woman in action.

I was watching Super-Force; a futuristic Sci-Fi series on NTA2 Channel 5, one Thursday evening many years ago with my beloved older brother when we clearly heard our neighbors from the building a block away shouting “Pour water! Pour water.” Their Kitchen was on fire and they were attempting to extinguish the fire with water. Whenever there is a fire outbreak, at an average, 85% of us instinctively consider using water as an extinguishing medium. If the source of the fire were not electrical, or gaseous, then by all means pour as much water as you can because water will suppress the ability of the fuel the continue the process of combustion. However, if the source of a fire outbreak is electrical or gaseous, using water may cause electrocution or death, for electrical fires; and may cause an explosion if the source of the fire is gaseous.

There are 3 basic components of fire. These include the following; fuel, oxygen, and an ignition source. The components form what experts refer to as the fire triangle. You may represent the fire equation as:

Fuel + Oxygen + Ignition Source = Fire.

Fuel does not refer only to the regular fuel our cars run on. It actually refers to anything that can be consumed by fire, or anything that can burn- combustible materials like paper, cloth, wood, plastic, stone (at the right temperature), metal (at the right temperature), and flammable materials.

Oxygen is available in air and forms 21% of the air we breathe.

Ignition source refers to a spark, extreme temperatures, a naked flame, or even smoke that can trigger a fire flash.

If any of the components of fire is taken out of the fire equation, fire is extinguished. This is the fundamental principle of fire-fighting.

There are basically 4 types of fire, and each type has a unique fire extinguishing medium. Therefore, understanding the type of fire, and what medium to use in an attempt to extinguish the fire is important. Water will not always work. The four types of fire are:

1.       Class A Fire: This is fire involving only ordinary combustibles like wood, paper, clothe, plastic, stone, human tissue, animal tissue, stone, and metal

2.       Class B Fire: This is fire involving flammable liquids like petrol, diesel, grease, and cooking oil.

3.       Class C Fire: This refers to gaseous fire involving gases such as Liquefied petroleum gas or liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), also referred to as simply propane or butane.

4.       Class D Fire: These are all forms of electrical fire.

As mentioned already, there are different ways of fighting the different classes of fire. The table below shows the type of fire and the best extinguishing medium to use:

CLASS OF FIRE	BEST EXTINGUISHING MEDIUM
Class A Fire	Water
Class B Fire	ABC or Dry Chemical Powder fire extinguisher
Class C Fire	ABC or Dry Chemical Powder fire extinguisher
Class D Fire	CO2 fire extinguisher

Also, note that sand maybe used for Class B and C types of fire. A material called The Fire Blanket is very suitable in Kitchens for Class C Fires. You may have noticed sand buckets in Fueling Stations around, and fire blankets in state of the art Kitchens. More so, the ABC or dry chemical powder is a universal fire extinguisher. However, it is not advisable to use this type of extinguisher for electrical fires involving electrical appliances because it causes the circuitry system and wiring to corrode, thereby destroying the electrical appliance. Especially if you plan to reuse the electrical devices involved in fires, try using the CO2 for electrical fires. Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers do not render electrical devices useless after use.

Furthermore, the ABC dry chemical powder fire extinguisher usually comes in Red cylinders, while the CO2 fire extinguishers come in Black cylinders. Please, next time you encounter a fire, understand the class and use the appropriate fire extinguisher. You may want to have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and in your car. These things help prevent the loss of life and property.

For more information or details on how to understand the various types of fire and how to effectively extinguish them, I am sure that the kind folks at  +Fire Fighting Technologies, +fire fighting, specialized and rescue equipments, +fire fighting equipments for home, +Fire fighting equ.|Fire extinguisher Manufacturer|Rent|supplier, +Fire Suppression Ltd, +Omaha Professional Fire Fighters Association, +Fire Suppression Services, +Fire Support Network, +US Fire Equipment, +NY Fire Equipment, +Crandall Fire, +State of Nevada Department of Public Safety Fire Marshal Division, and +Conex Fire Fighting & Fire Alarm Systems Qatar may be happy to answer all your questions.

Disclaimer: Please note that I will not be held accountable or responsible for any accidents or incidents resulting from use of information gathered from this blog post.

Respectfully yours,

Onwuka Chukwuemeka,

Health Safety & Environment,

Procter & Gamble |  Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria  | +2347043319172 | +2348057044512

… even on our worse nights, the sun eventually rises.