Fire Extinguisher
Created | Updated Feb 20, 2002
Definition: a fire extinguisher shall be anyhting that puts out fire.
History:
The history of the fire extinguisher is as old as the discovery of fire. Even though in older times the only extinguisher known to man was rain, man soon found devices that were less timely, less dependend on luck and on mother nature.
These early devices most likely included anything from feet (not invented, but certainly used anyways) and collected water to leafy branches of trees.
Nowadays, these methods are still employed by hikers who don't have any of the modern devices. However, after many years of evolution and education, man was finally able to find more efficient ways of putting out fires. Due to the increase in population on earth in the last 2000 years, larger and by far more efficient methods had to be developed.
Big Fires:
One of the biggest facilitators of these methods are the volunteer or professional fire fighters found all over the planet. They use such devices as 5cm caliber waterhoses to fight large fires and the same hoses loaded with foam to fight chemical fires. Forest fires or wide area fires in general require special methods. For these fires, planes and helicopter are equipped with water collecting devices that are filled up with water and then dumped over the fiery area. In most cases planes or helicopters are equipped with containers that hold large amounts of water. To fill these they are flown to nearby lakes and dragged through the water, in a "fly-by" maneuver. This has to be done fast because the fire is not waiting for the water and every second counts. These containers are then hauled to the site of the fire and opened right on top of it, releasing the water. That procedure is repeated as many times as necessary. Of course, fire fighters on the ground are fighting the fire with the available ground fire fighting resources.
Oil Rig fires:
One of the more interesting ways to put out a fire is used by those fire fighters that have to extinguished fiery oil wells. These fires are hard to put out since the fuel for the fire is deep underground. It is impossible to kill the flames that are shooting out of the ground, by just adding water. In these scenarios, fire fighters use explosive charges. These are placed next to the fire and then detonated. The shockwave of the blast will create a vacuum around the fire for just one instant, thus suffocating the fire and putting it out. Immediately after that, oil will shoot out of the ground and the fire fighter's job is then to plug the well up as fast as possible.
Home fires:
For smaller fires, such as fires at home, there are still almost unlimited possibilities of how to fight a fire. Gardenhoses, clothing, shoes, buckets filled with water are among many others that are comonly used. These are the preferred devices for your everyday in-house fire. Whether it is the candle that fell on the carpet or the other candle that ingnited the christmas tree. Usually, that is if noticed soon enough, these primitive devices will suffice. There is just about a different extinguisher for every situation. Every one does make a difference as well. So for example, you are frying some fish and after finishing you forgot to turn the stove off and the cooking oil catches fire. To try to put it out with water is about as fatal as insulting a rhinoceros. Oil reacts with water and the result is hot burning oil spraying everywhere, on you and on the rest of the house. If unfortunate enough, this can leave you with major burns and without a home. The first thing to do would be to remove the heat, say from the stove. Then cover it up to extinguish the flames. Suffocate it.
Fires involving parts of your body:
Definetely one of the most gruesome things.
The good-for-all fire extinguishers:
One device however, distinguishes itself from the others. It can be found in almost all buildings that adhere to a general fire code. These devices, formally called 'Fire Extinguishers', come in many different sizes and in four basic types. They come filled either with water, halon, liquid CO2, or powder.
The water extinguisher is the simplest of them all. Good for fires that can be put out with water without risking damage to oneself or the surrounding equipment. Even though it resembles a large watergun, it should be handled with care and not used to shoot at other people. The pressure is so high that it can injure.
The halon extinguisher puts out fires by disturbing the chemical reaction going on in a fire. This extinguisher is very effective, but has a limited range of usually 4-6 feet. It is usually used on airplanes or other places where efficiency is crucial. It is also used on electrical equipment since it leaves no residue. The drawback however is, that the halons that the extinguisher is filled with, does more damage to ozone layer than CFCs. That's why there is less and less of them.
The liquid CO2 extinguisher will shoot out of the extinguisher as freezing cold CO2 which cools the surrounding air and will make it snow. I have been told it is an excellent way of cooling a beer in case one should run out of ice (Pjotr). The CO2 that is expelled from the extinguisher will make it hard for the fire to breath and hopefully put it out. This type is mostly used for electrical and chemical fires and also in places in which water would cause more damage than do good, such as a place that stores electrical hardware.
Lastly, there is the powder, or dry chemical, extinguisher. It contains a powdery substance that is propelled out of the extinguisher by a non-flammable gas. It reacts with the fire and puts it out. Very messy.
There is another kind of extinguisher which is made for flammable metals. These are specifically made for metals and used only for that purpose.
How to use it:
Most extinguishers work on the same principle. One has a metal bottle of varying size filled under pressure with CO2 or water and attached to it is a hose and a handle with a trigger. In case of a fire, one would pull out the bolt that secures the trigger. Making sure that one has control over the hose, it is pointed at the base of the fire and the trigger is pulled. The contents of the bottle will spew out and hopefully put out the fire. It is that simple.
History:
The history of the fire extinguisher is as old as the discovery of fire. Even though in older times the only extinguisher known to man was rain, man soon found devices that were less timely, less dependend on luck and on mother nature.
These early devices most likely included anything from feet (not invented, but certainly used anyways) and collected water to leafy branches of trees.
Nowadays, these methods are still employed by hikers who don't have any of the modern devices. However, after many years of evolution and education, man was finally able to find more efficient ways of putting out fires. Due to the increase in population on earth in the last 2000 years, larger and by far more efficient methods had to be developed.
Big Fires:
One of the biggest facilitators of these methods are the volunteer or professional fire fighters found all over the planet. They use such devices as 5cm caliber waterhoses to fight large fires and the same hoses loaded with foam to fight chemical fires. Forest fires or wide area fires in general require special methods. For these fires, planes and helicopter are equipped with water collecting devices that are filled up with water and then dumped over the fiery area. In most cases planes or helicopters are equipped with containers that hold large amounts of water. To fill these they are flown to nearby lakes and dragged through the water, in a "fly-by" maneuver. This has to be done fast because the fire is not waiting for the water and every second counts. These containers are then hauled to the site of the fire and opened right on top of it, releasing the water. That procedure is repeated as many times as necessary. Of course, fire fighters on the ground are fighting the fire with the available ground fire fighting resources.
Oil Rig fires:
One of the more interesting ways to put out a fire is used by those fire fighters that have to extinguished fiery oil wells. These fires are hard to put out since the fuel for the fire is deep underground. It is impossible to kill the flames that are shooting out of the ground, by just adding water. In these scenarios, fire fighters use explosive charges. These are placed next to the fire and then detonated. The shockwave of the blast will create a vacuum around the fire for just one instant, thus suffocating the fire and putting it out. Immediately after that, oil will shoot out of the ground and the fire fighter's job is then to plug the well up as fast as possible.
Home fires:
For smaller fires, such as fires at home, there are still almost unlimited possibilities of how to fight a fire. Gardenhoses, clothing, shoes, buckets filled with water are among many others that are comonly used. These are the preferred devices for your everyday in-house fire. Whether it is the candle that fell on the carpet or the other candle that ingnited the christmas tree. Usually, that is if noticed soon enough, these primitive devices will suffice. There is just about a different extinguisher for every situation. Every one does make a difference as well. So for example, you are frying some fish and after finishing you forgot to turn the stove off and the cooking oil catches fire. To try to put it out with water is about as fatal as insulting a rhinoceros. Oil reacts with water and the result is hot burning oil spraying everywhere, on you and on the rest of the house. If unfortunate enough, this can leave you with major burns and without a home. The first thing to do would be to remove the heat, say from the stove. Then cover it up to extinguish the flames. Suffocate it.
Fires involving parts of your body:
Definetely one of the most gruesome things.
The good-for-all fire extinguishers:
One device however, distinguishes itself from the others. It can be found in almost all buildings that adhere to a general fire code. These devices, formally called 'Fire Extinguishers', come in many different sizes and in four basic types. They come filled either with water, halon, liquid CO2, or powder.
The water extinguisher is the simplest of them all. Good for fires that can be put out with water without risking damage to oneself or the surrounding equipment. Even though it resembles a large watergun, it should be handled with care and not used to shoot at other people. The pressure is so high that it can injure.
The halon extinguisher puts out fires by disturbing the chemical reaction going on in a fire. This extinguisher is very effective, but has a limited range of usually 4-6 feet. It is usually used on airplanes or other places where efficiency is crucial. It is also used on electrical equipment since it leaves no residue. The drawback however is, that the halons that the extinguisher is filled with, does more damage to ozone layer than CFCs. That's why there is less and less of them.
The liquid CO2 extinguisher will shoot out of the extinguisher as freezing cold CO2 which cools the surrounding air and will make it snow. I have been told it is an excellent way of cooling a beer in case one should run out of ice (Pjotr). The CO2 that is expelled from the extinguisher will make it hard for the fire to breath and hopefully put it out. This type is mostly used for electrical and chemical fires and also in places in which water would cause more damage than do good, such as a place that stores electrical hardware.
Lastly, there is the powder, or dry chemical, extinguisher. It contains a powdery substance that is propelled out of the extinguisher by a non-flammable gas. It reacts with the fire and puts it out. Very messy.
There is another kind of extinguisher which is made for flammable metals. These are specifically made for metals and used only for that purpose.
How to use it:
Most extinguishers work on the same principle. One has a metal bottle of varying size filled under pressure with CO2 or water and attached to it is a hose and a handle with a trigger. In case of a fire, one would pull out the bolt that secures the trigger. Making sure that one has control over the hose, it is pointed at the base of the fire and the trigger is pulled. The contents of the bottle will spew out and hopefully put out the fire. It is that simple.
