Fire in your company? You must know the correct extinguisher

There are enough fire extinguishers in your company, in exactly the right place. In the event of a fire, your staff can immediately put out the fire. Isn't that right? Not necessarily! There are different fire classes, each requiring a different extinguisher. Do you know them all?

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You must know the correct extinguisher

Your company is legally obliged to put together a first intervention team (see, among other things, the Royal Decree of 28 March 2014 on fire prevention at the workplace). This is made up of volunteers, working for your company, who will train you to be able to take care of fire prevention and extinguishing quickly. Because one fire is not the same as another, your first intervention team needs to know which extinguisher applies to each fire class.

6 fire classes and their extinguishers

Each fire class (A, B, C, D, E and F) requires a specific extinguisher. Using the wrong extinguisher can have fatal consequences! For this reason, each small extinguisher is printed with one or more letters referring to the fire class(es) for which it is suitable.

• - A: solids

Extinguish with water, foam or powder.

• - B: flammable liquids

Extinguish with foam, powder or CO2.

• - C: gases

Extinguish with powder or, better still, shut off the gas supply.

• - D: metals

Extinguish with powder.

• - E: Electricity fires

Extinguish an electric fire with powder (this does damage the material), foam (as long as the voltage is less than 1000 V) or play it safe with a CO2 extinguisher.

• - F: greases

Extinguish with foam, but only if the extinguisher carries an F-label!

What about fire blankets?

Fire blankets are intended for small fires. It is better not to use them to extinguish fires of class F (e.g. burning chip fat), unless the blanket is 'BSEN1869 certified'.

Apply for a fire extinguishing course

To make sure that the first intervention team knows all the extinguishers well, many companies train the team members in extinguishing. You too can easily organise such training. Ask the supplier(s) of your extinguishers or knock on the door of one of the provincial training centres. The fact that this training will give your company an edge over your fire insurance is of course only a bonus. Need more information? Do not hesitate to contact us.