Occupational Safety and Health Administration

USA Department of Labor

OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

Fire Extinguisher Rating

Introduction:
• Unlike some products, extinguishers have to be installed in public
premises, and a standard form of assessment is required to determine
how many extinguishers and what type are needed to protect a given
risk.
• There are two main international fire extinguishers rating systems
most widely used:
1. CEN (European System)
2. U.L. (American System)

CEN (European System)

This is most widely used in Europe and has two sections, one for class A fire
extinguishers and the other section for Class B fire extinguishers.

A- Class A Fire Extinguishers:

 The test fires consist of a crib of wooden sticks supported on a metal
frame.
 All cribs are 0.56 meters (56 cm) high and 0.5 meters (50 cm) wide.

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

 The length of the sticks varies for specific ratings e.g. for 3A fire tests
the length will be 0.3 meters (30 cm) and for 55 A the length is 5.5
meters (550 cm) long.
 A tray containing heptane is placed under the crib to light the fire.
 After 2 minutes the tray is removed and the fire is allowed to burn for
further 6 minutes before extinguishment is started.
 For the test to be successful it is essential that all flames should be
extinguished and there should be no recurrence of flaming during the
three minutes following the complete discharge of the extinguisher.
 An extinguisher shall be regarded as capable of extinguishing a test
fire when two tests succed out of three.

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

Rate Length of Wooden Curbs

3A 0.3 meter
5A 0.5 meter
8A 0.8 meter
13A 1.3 meter
21A 2.1 meter
27A 2.7 meter
34A 3.4 meter
43A 4.3 meter
55A 5.5 meter

B- Class B Fire Extinguishers:

 These tests are conducted in a range of welded sheet circular
cylindrical trays.
 Each tray in the series is designed by a number representing the
amount of fuel required in liters as detailed in the table below.

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

Rating Volume of Fuel in Liter

8B 8 liters
13B 13 liters
21B 21 liters
34B 34 Liters
55B 55 liters
70B 70 Liters
89B 89 liters
113B 113 Liters
144B 144 liters
183B 183Liters
233B 233 Liters

 The fuel is an aliphatic hydro-carbon which has a boiling range of 88°

– 105° C (Heptane).
 The fire is allowed a one minute pre-burn.
 The wind speed should not be greater than 3 meters per second and
the ambient temperature between 0° - 30° C.
 The operator should be in normal working clothes with the addition of
gloves, helmet and face visor.
 An extinguisher be regarde as capable of extinguishing a test fire
when two tests succeed out of three.

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

The Underwriting Laboratories (UL) System

Class A Fires:
 Class A fire extinguishers, under continuous discharge, shall be
capable of extinguishing wood-crib, and wood panel fires as
designated in the following requirements for a given class and rating
and type of extinguisher and/or agent.
 A test fire shall be considered to be extinguished if it reaches a state
which will not be subject to self-reignition or continued smoldering
under the conditions of test.
 For a extinguisher to become eligible for a given class and rating, the
specified test fires shall be extinguished repeatedly, each test being
conducted starting with fully charged extinguisher.
 It has been determined that the extinguishment of test fires for class
A: water or foam extinguishers is primarily a function of the amount
of the extinguishing agent and the duration and range of its discharge.
 Extinguishers up to and including 33 gallon capacity and otherwise
conforming with the appropriate requirements for discharge capacity,
duration, and range may be eligible for rating without fire testing. In
such cases the class and rating be applied in accordance with table 1.

Table 1. Classification Based on Capacity

Extinguisher Capacity Rating – Class
US Gallons Imp. Gallons
1.25 1.00 1A
2.50 2.00 2A
4.00 3.00 3A
5.00 4.00 4A
10.00 8.00 6A
17.00 14.00 10 A
33.00 27.00 20 A

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

Wood – Crib Fire Test:

 Construction and arrangement of wood-crib fire tests for rating-class
up to and including 10 A are to be conducted in an essentially draft-
free room having a volume sufficiently large as to assure the
necessary supply of oxygen and reasonable visibility for the period of
the test. A room having a ceiling height of approximately 24 feet and
a volume of at least 57000 cubic feet has been found suitable for these
purposes.
 The room is to have a smoothly finished concrete floor.
 For a rating-class exceeding 10 A, the test may be conducted outdoors
under conditions of essential still air.

Classification Number of Nominal Size and Arrangement of Wood

& Rating Wood Length of Wood Members in Crib
Members Members in Inches
1–A 50 2 x 2 x 20 10 layers of 5 sticks
2–A 78 2 x 2 x 25 5/8 13 layers of 6 sticks
3–A 98 2 x 2 x 30 ¾ 14 layers of 7 sticks
4–A 120 2 x 2 x 33 3/8 15 layers of 8 sticks
6–A 153 2 x 2 x 38 3/8 17 layers of 9 sticks

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

10 – A 209 2 x 2 x 47½ 19 layers of 11 sticks

20 – A 160 2 x 4 x 62¼ 10 layers of 15 sticks
30 – A 192 2 x 4 x 74 5/8 10 layers of 18 sticks
40 - A 224 2 x 4 x 87 1/8 10 layers of 21 sticks

Class B Fires:
 Class B fire extinguishers, under conditions of continuous discharge
with all devices for controlling the flow of the extinguishing agent
maintained in the position for maximum discharge, shall be capable of
extinguishing flammable liquid test fires as designated in the
following requirements for a given rating-class.
 A test fire shall be considered to be extinguished if it reaches a state
which will not be subject to self-reignition under the conditions of
test.
 An extinguisher to be used in a fire test shall have been previously
tested for minimum effective discherge time, the minimum effective
discharge time shall be at least that specified in table 2.

Table 2.
Rating Min. Pan Size Pan Size n-Heptane
Class Effective Square Square US Imperial
Discharge Feet Meters Gallons Gallons
Time in (Inside) (Inside) (Approx.)
Seconds
Indoor
1–B 8 2.5 0.2 3.25 2.70
2–B 8 5.0 0.5 6.25 5.20
5–B 8 12.5 1.2 15.50 13.00
10 – B 8 25.0 2.3 31.00 26.00
20 – B 8 50.0 4.6 65.00 54.00
Outdoor
30 – B 11 75.0 7.0 95.00 79.00
40 – B 13 100.0 9.3 125.00 104.00
60 – B 17 150.0 14.0 190.00 158.00

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

80 – B 20 200.0 18.6 250.00 208.00

120 – B 26 300.0 27.9 375.00 312.00
160 – B 31 400.0 37.1 500.00 416.00
240 – B 40 600.0 55.7 750.00 625.00
320 – B 48 800.0 74.3 1000.00 833.00
480 – B 63 1200.0 111.5 1500.00 1250.00
640 – B 75 1600.0 148.6 2000.00 1666.00

 Flammable – Liquid fire tests are to be conducted in a large volume,

essentially draft-free room for a rating-class up to and including 20 –
B.
 For rating-class exceeding 20 – B the tests may be conducted outdoor.
 The flammable liquid test fire is conducted using a steel ban, square in
shape, and not less than 8 inches in depth, partially filled with water,
if necessary, and a 2 inch layer of n-heptane.
 The pans are to be of steel not less than ¼ inch thick, with liquid tight
welded joints.

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 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USA Department of Labor
OSHA OUTREACH SAFETY TRAINING

Mirdif Security & Safety Consultants

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