FORT GREELY, Alaska -- You see them dozens of times per day. They are in schools, office buildings, libraries, shopping centers, practically every public building you visit. Yet they go unnoticed and unneeded by the average person.
What are they' Fire extinguishers! Thanks to modern life safety codes, fire extinguishers have become commonplace and a part of everyday scenery, but the one place they are most needed is often the one place they are seldom found: your home.
Residential structures, such as houses, duplexes and apartment buildings, are roughly three times as likely to be involved in a fire as non-residential structures. Each year the vast majority of injuries and deaths resulting from fires occur in residential structures.
In 2008 there were a total of 16,705 reported injuries resulting from fires, according to the United States Fire Administration. Of those, 13,560 injuries occurred in residential structures. In other words, your chances of being injured in a fire increase 531-percent just by going home.
Why do so many more injuries occur in the home than at work or in public buildings' There are a couple of reasons; people spend more time at home than other places, and life safety rules are stricter in public building.
Another major reason for the increase of injuries in home fires is people attempting to extinguish the fire themselves. The best way to ensure nobody in your family gets injured by a fire is to prevent the fire from happening in the first place.
Unfortunately, fires can and do happen, so the next best thing is to get your family and yourself safely out of the house and call the fire department. For many people, their natural reaction to a sudden fire in their home is to try and put the fire out.
However, all too often, they are without the most basic tool for safely extinguishing a small fire; a fire extinguisher.
Cooking is the leading cause of fires in the home, accounting for almost half of residential structure fires. For years there have been different tips on what to do in the event of a cooking fire. Put a lid on the skillet; use baking soda; throw a wet rag on top; and the list goes on.
The one thing all these old methods have in common is they put you dangerously close to the fire.
The USFA published a report in August of 2007 titled "Behavior Mitigation of Cooking Fires." In that report they point out that 55-percent of injuries from cooking fires occur because of attempts to fight the fire. That's a huge contributing factor in the number of injuries associated with fires in the home. By adding a fire extinguisher to your residence and learning how to use it, you can take a significant step in making your home safer.
However, fire extinguishers aren't fool-proof. They must be the right type, the right size, used in the right way, and stored in the right location.
Here are some basic points for home fire extinguishers: Be sure to have the right type of fire extinguisher. Fire extinguishers are selected based upon the class of material that could be on fire.
Class A: fire extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as wood, paper, and plastics.
Class B: fire extinguishers are for flammable liquids such as gasoline and grease.
Class C: fire extinguishers are for use on or near energized electrical equipment. The extinguishing agent in the fire extinguisher will not conduct electricity so the user remains safe from getting shocked.
Combination fire extinguishers, such as ABC or BC can be used on different materials according to the rating. The best type to purchase for a home is an ABC combination fire extinguisher.
Fire extinguishers are available in many different sizes. Sometimes the labels can be a little difficult to understand, but generally speaking bigger is usually better. A good size for a household fire extinguisher would have a rating of 2-A, 10-B or C.
Here is how the rating system works:
2-A in the rating indicates the fire extinguisher is suitable for Class A materials. The number 2 in front of the A means the extinguishing agent inside is roughly equivalent to 2.5 gallons of water (1 would be equivalent to 1.25 gallons of water).
10-B in the rating indicates the fire extinguisher is suitable for Class B materials. The number 10 in front of the B means the extinguisher is capable of putting out a fire approximately 10 square feet in size.
C in the rating indicates the fire extinguishing agent will not conduct electricity and therefore is safe to use on live electrical equipment. Know how to use the fire extinguisher.
The time to figure out how to use a fire extinguisher is not when you have a skillet fire. The simplest way to remember how to use a fire extinguisher is to practice the PASS method: P - Pull the pin; A - Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire; S - Squeeze the handle to spray the extinguishing agent; S - Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire.
Apply the extinguishing agent to the burning material and not the flames above the burning material. Place the fire extinguisher in the proper location. Ideally the fire extinguisher should be mounted on a wall next to an exit. It's never a good idea to store a fire extinguisher near where a fire could start, such as next to the stove.
Also, fire extinguishers should always be in plain sight, not covered or hidden.
Here are some good rules to follow for when to use a fire extinguisher:
*All the other people in the house have been alerted and someone has called the fire department.
*The fire is small and contained to a single object, such as the stove top.
*You are safe from the toxic smoke produced by the fire You have a means of escape immediately available and the fire is not between you and your escape route.
*And your instincts tell you that it's safe use a fire extinguisher.
Do not use a fire extinguisher when:
*The fire has grown and more than one object is burning.
*Others are still in the house.
*The area is filling with smoke You have no escape route or your escape route could be cut off by the fire You are not familiar with how to use a fire extinguisher.
*You are not physically capable of using the fire extinguisher.
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