Facilities Management’s

Environmental Health & Safety Division

Presents…

Fire Ex tinguish er s
Your Personal PASS to Safety
 Introduction
When a fire breaks out, you have only
seconds to react – and in those few
seconds, you must respond quickly and
efficiently. You must stay calm and
know your options. Frequently, the best
option will simply be to leave the area
and call for help. Yet, there may be
other times when you will be in a
position to put out the fire through the
proper use of the right type of fire
extinguisher.
The Four Elements of Fire
Fire doesn’t happen by chance. It
requires four distinct elements, and all
four must be present in order for a fire
to take place:
 Fuel (such as wood, paper, cloth, propane,
gasoline, kerosene, Coleman fuel)
 Oxygen (16% of the air)
 Heat (for instance, a match or spark)
 The chemical reaction that results from fuel,
oxygen and heat mixing in the right quantity, at
the right time
 Stopping the Fire
If any one of the four elements (fuel,
oxygen, heat or chemical reaction) is
removed, a fire cannot survive.
Fighting fire means eliminating one or
more of these elements.
Removing the fuel is difficult to do,
since the fuel is what’s actually
burning. If the fuel consists of
flammable vapors, special fire-fighting
foams can occasionally control those
vapors and in essence remove the fuel.
Reducing or eliminating the fire’s
access to oxygen is much easier.
This is referred to as “smothering”
the fire.
Cooling the fire is the method with
which you are probably the most
familiar. Spraying water on a fire
cools the fuel long enough to stop the
chemical reaction.
A final fire-fighting method uses
certain chemicals such as Halon to
suspend the chain reaction, causing
the flames to die. New “clean agent”
chemicals have been developed to
replace Halon, which is no longer
manufactured.
 Classes of Fire
Not all fires are the same. Some fires are
best extinguished by eliminating heat, others
by taking away the oxygen. How do you
know which method should be used? In
order to answer that question, you have to
know what type of fire you are attempting to
extinguish.
Every fire belongs to a specific class based
on two categories:
 The type of fuel being burned
 The source of the heat
 Fuel Sources for
Different Classes of Fire are:

Class A Fire:
Fuel is wood, paper, cloth, grass or
other ordinary combustibles.
Fuel Sources for Different Classes,
Continued…

Class B Fire:
Fuel is a liquid or gas such as
kerosene, propane or Coleman fuel.
Fuel Sources for Different Classes,
Continued…

Class C Fire:
 Is electrical in nature
 The heat source is always faulty
wiring, short circuits or electrically
energized equipment.
Fuel Sources for Different Classes,
Continued…

Class D Fire:
Fuel is flammable metal such as
magnesium or sodium.
Types of Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are

classified according to the
class of fire they are intended
to fight. Not every fire extinguisher
works on every type of fire. For
instance, an extinguisher that uses
water should never be used on a
Class C (electrical) fire.
 Types of Extinguishers,
Continued…

 Class A: Usually uses water

 Classes B and C: Usually use
chemical solutions such as dry
powder
 Class D: Usually uses special dry
powder
 Types of Extinguishers,
Continued…

Every fire extinguisher faceplate

shows which class of fire it is
intended to fight. If a specific
extinguisher can be used for more
than one kind of fire, the faceplate will
list all classes for which that
extinguisher is effective.
Proper Use of Fire Extinguishers

All extinguishers have simple instructions on

them, and they are usually some variation of
these simple steps:

Pull the pin.

Aim the extinguisher hose or nozzle at
the base of the fire.
Squeeze the handle.
Sweep it slowly back and forth in order to
cover the entire fire with the extinguishing
substance.
 Proper Use of Fire Extinguishers,
Continued…

Always keep the exit to your back while

fighting a fire, and if your efforts don’t seem
to be successful, leave the area, closing
doors behind you to assist in keeping the
fire from spreading. Once you are safe, call
911 immediately.
 Conclusion

A fire can be put out if you keep in mind

a few simple details:

 Know how fires take place – the

four elements of fuel, oxygen, heat
and chain reaction.
 Know the different classes of fire.
 Know whether the fire extinguisher is the
right class for the type of fire.
 Know how to correctly operate a fire
extinguisher, using PASS: Pull, Aim,
Squeeze, Sweep.
 Of fi ce of
Envi ronmental
He alth & Saf ety

Campus Location: Facilities Management

521 S. Razorback Road
Telephone: 479-575-5448
Web Site: http://www.phpl.uark.edu/ehs/

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