Does Your Team Know How To Use a Fire Extinguisher?

5/23/2022 (Permalink)

Selecting an appropriate fire extinguisher and training your employees on how to use it can help you avoid extensive fire damage at your business.

Does Your Team Know How To Use A Fire Extinguisher?

A fire can negatively impact your business's daily operations in San Antonio, TX. Equipping your space with fire extinguishers and training your employees to operate them can prevent fires from spreading and devastating your business.

Which Extinguisher Should You Choose?

A fire can potentially break out anywhere in your business, but having multiple extinguishers throughout your premises can provide significant protection. Also, you must know which types of extinguishers can effectively address different fire causes.

• Class A extinguishers contain pressurized water that puts out fires involving solid combustibles, including paper, wood, cloth and plastic. They can help prevent fire damage in office settings containing documents, furnishing and electronics.
  
• Class B units can extinguish fires in industrial settings. They contain CO2 or dry foam to combat oil, petroleum, gasoline, paint, propane solvents-related fires.
• Class C units address fires due to faulty wiring or electrical malfunctions and are helpful near a fuse box or office equipment. However, they rob these fires of the oxygen that sustains them.
• The powdery agent in Class D extinguishers puts out fires involving metal substances at businesses dealing with biotech materials.

You may need to consult with a fire restoration and cleaning service to address the extensive damage resulting from a kitchen fire. However, a nearby Class K fire extinguisher can minimize flames involving fat, grease and oil. Dry and wet chemicals in these units can keep these fires from spreading by lowering the high temperatures that cause combustion.

What Are the Steps for Operating an Extinguisher?

Keeping extinguishers on your business premises is not enough to prevent fire damage. You must ensure that everyone on your staff knows how to use them by following the PASS steps as follows:

• P: Pull the unit's pin
  
• A: Aim the unit nozzle toward the bottom of the flames
  
• S: Squeeze the handle while the extinguishing agent discharge
• S: Sweep the extinguishing from side to side while it emits the extinguishing agent

Choosing an appropriate fire extinguisher and training your staff to use it can prevent help you avoid extensive fire damage at your business in San Antonio, TX.