Home Fire Extinguishers - Minefield

photonic69

So I've always been meaning to get some extinguishers for home, a four bedroom terrace house over three floors. Thought it would be fairly straightforward but looking online there are so very many different sorts. Foam. Water. CO2. AFFF. It's endless.
I plan to have some on the landing outside the bedrooms and one/two downstairs to cover kitchen/living areas.

Anyone able to offer guidance for this so I don't waste money on unsuitable equipment.

Ta.

ddraver

Proper guidance...? No


I think when I worked in holiday homes the guidance was CO2 and a blanket in the kitchen and water elsewhere. But if no one smokes then I would suggest the most likely cause of a fire is electric so you'll want CO2 there as well...

I've never heard of them in a family home though. Getting them in holiday homes where they are legal requirements was hard enough

Pross

My daughter’s boyfriend does fire and security stuff so I’ll ask him. I’m pretty sure you would need water, CO2 and maybe a blanket to cover all eventualities though. I always thought CO2 would cover anything but isn’t suitable for use on solids apparently.

monkimark

House fire is likely to be electrical so water is probably not a great idea.

The powder ones are most effective for a broad range of fires and you can get pretty small ones but they make a horrible mess if accidentally discharged. Foam also make a mess - less of a mess than your house being on fire but again, may be worth considering if there is a chance of kids etc accidentally setting them off.

Fire blanket for chip pan type fires buy it takes a bit of confidence (and a bit of knowledge) to use them.

CO2 good against electrical fires and clean when set off but the nozzle bit gets cold enough to burn your skin so be aware how to use them.

I've done a couple of practical courses using extinguishers and remember they only work against small fires (advice is no bigger than a waste paper basket). I remember someone using a full (smallish) water extinguisher on a burning cardboard box and not managing to fully extinguish the flames.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

Identify the types of fire likely to occur in your house and choose extinguishers accordingly.

In a home this is likely to be:

1) Combustible materials i.e. wood, paper and fabric (Water extinguisher)

2) electrical eqpt (co2 or dry powder).

3) chip pans, deep fat fryer, cooking oils (wet chemical*).

*wet chemical is the only extinguisher that can be used on cooking oils.

If you have flammable liquids or chemicals you are worried about such as paint and petrol get a dry powder as this covers liquids, gases, combustibles and electrical eqpt.

Don't buy foam, they are not suitable for domestic use.

Oh, and you will need to pay someone to do an annual service, extinguishers have a lifespan even when unused.

morstar

Do show all your family a video of water being on a chip pan fire if they haven’t seen it.

Even if you don’t have a chip pan at home, you never know when you may be in a house where somebody does.

Have seen it first hand at one of the fire brigade demo things and it’s a sight to behold.

mully79

Note; CO2 used in a confined space (ie a room) can make you dead.

Dry powder will mostly render every sensitive piece of electrical equipment dead.

Water extinguisher sprayed on electrical fires can make you dead.

It takes less than a minute for a room to become a 1000 degree furnace in a house fire. You won’t put a serious fire out with an extinguisher.

Not having a chip pan is easier than bothering to learn how to use a fire blanket though a fire blanket is a good idea 👍

photonic69

So basically I've gleaned from this that fire extinguishers are really dangerous and should not be used in the house to put out fires! Who would have thunk it? Best to just run, screaming from the building clutching the laptop and cycle clothes?

Don't have a chip pan. Don't have an open fire. Don't smoke. But we do have umpteen hundred rechargeable devices and AA/AAA battery chargers etc. Most of these are recharged in the kitchen and never overnight. My wife does have an eBike but this is a Bosch unit so hopefully a bit safer than a cheapo Chinese flamebomb. I do have a workshop in our conservatory that is packed with sprays, meths, IPA, white spirit, paint, oils, etc. Probably best not to charge eBikes next to that lot.

oxoman

I currently have 2 Co2 extinguishers 1 in my mancave / workshop and one ìn the house on the first floor tucked out of the way but easily accessible. Having trained practically in fire fighting within various workplaces I wouldn't worry to much about the lack of oxygen using Co2 unless in a very unventilated confined space. Fire blankets are OK for chip pans or similar type fires that require smothering, but care should be taken when using. Have made sure family knows how to use as well. As mentioned previously foam and dry powder are very messy and ideally for specialist incidents. Water is ok but not good around electricity or certain chemicals or media.

shirley_basso

You can use CO2 fire extinguishers to quick-chill warm beers as well. Just place the horn over the entire beer and pull trigger.

surrey_commuter

photonic69 said:

So basically I've gleaned from this that fire extinguishers are really dangerous and should not be used in the house to put out fires! Who would have thunk it? Best to just run, screaming from the building clutching the laptop and cycle clothes?

Don't have a chip pan. Don't have an open fire. Don't smoke. But we do have umpteen hundred rechargeable devices and AA/AAA battery chargers etc. Most of these are recharged in the kitchen and never overnight. My wife does have an eBike but this is a Bosch unit so hopefully a bit safer than a cheapo Chinese flamebomb. I do have a workshop in our conservatory that is packed with sprays, meths, IPA, white spirit, paint, oils, etc. Probably best not to charge eBikes next to that lot.

BiL is a firefighter and he would give you top marks for your gleaning. He sees his job as saving lives so yes you should leave the building.

He laughs at people who don't run appliances when they are out because they might catch fire... "what better time to have a fire?"

House fires are incredibly rare.

Munsford0

I've played with various fire extinguishers over the years with past employers which was a great deal of fun, but now the advice seems to be get out, call the professionals, and don't go back in.

Same with vehicle fires; we used to have fire extinguishers in company cars but the later advice was just to get the hell out of the car and watch the blaze from a safe distance

Dorset_Boy

Just had my annual office extinguisher service, only to be told that powder is no longer to be used in smaller spaces (office is c500 sq ft total).
It needs to be replaced with a CO2 and a water one.
I think the regs get changed frequently for no reason to enable more extinguishers to be sold!

thistle_

Dorset_Boy said:

Just had my annual office extinguisher service, only to be told that powder is no longer to be used in smaller spaces (office is c500 sq ft total).
It needs to be replaced with a CO2 and a water one.
I think the regs get changed frequently for no reason to enable more extinguishers to be sold!

I did a few of those fire safety things at the fire station that they do for kids and I remember them saying powder is OK but don't breathe it in or you'll be farting for days - might have just been something they told us kids.

photonic69

OK I'm going to get a 2x CO2 and 2x Water ones now. Also a fire blanket. We have mains powered smoke detectors throughout the house.

ddraver

I'd say your home is more fire protected than 99.9% of the world's homes then...

photonic69

ddraver said:

I'd say your home is more fire protected than 99.9% of the world's homes then...

Did I mention that we have a massive cannabis grow room in the loft and we powered this by tapping into the neighbours incoming mains using some coathanger wire and jump leads?

me-109

Well that's a death trap right there.
But will you be putting any product on the classified pages?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

photonic69 said:

ddraver said:

I'd say your home is more fire protected than 99.9% of the world's homes then...

Did I mention that we have a massive cannabis grow room in the loft and we powered this by tapping into the neighbours incoming mains using some coathanger wire and jump leads?

Truss will add you to her small list of people not in the anti-growth coalition.

crescent

morstar said:

Do show all your family a video of water being on a chip pan fire if they haven’t seen it.

Even if you don’t have a chip pan at home, you never know when you may be in a house where somebody does.

Have seen it first hand at one of the fire brigade demo things and it’s a sight to behold.

I've done a bit of firefighting training due to working offshore, a lot of which involves demonstrating "what not to do".
I wholeheartedly agree, the cup of water into the oil based fire is spectacular/horrific to witness first hand.

gethinceri

Sold them for years. Buy a CO2 one and know where it is. For anything that isn’t an electrical fire that you notice as soon as it ignites, inform everybody in the house to get out of the house then get out of the house.

lesfirth

photonic69 said:

So basically I've gleaned from this that fire extinguishers are really dangerous and should not be used in the house to put out fires! Who would have thunk it? Best to just run, screaming from the building clutching the laptop and cycle clothes?

Don't have a chip pan. Don't have an open fire. Don't smoke. But we do have umpteen hundred rechargeable devices and AA/AAA battery chargers etc. Most of these are recharged in the kitchen and never overnight. My wife does have an eBike but this is a Bosch unit so hopefully a bit safer than a cheapo Chinese flamebomb. I do have a workshop in our conservatory that is packed with sprays, meths, IPA, white spirit, paint, oils, etc. Probably best not to charge eBikes next to that lot.

I think it is best to keep your IPA with your larger in a fridge.

veronese68

Hmm, not had much in the way of formal training but always been aware of what to do in the event of fire as it was instilled in us from an early age. I'd have thought CO² and a blanket are the best bet domestically. My grandad was big in the fire service, bizarrely the rack of tea light candles caught fire in the church at his funeral. Wax burns like oil, someone used an old brass water extinguisher on the fire. Flames went from 6" to 6' instantaneously. My uncle and I ran outside grabbed fistfuls of soil and dumped them over the fire. Family training in fire safety clearly had some effect.
Saying all that we don't have fire extinguishers at home. I'd get everyone out first then may improvise if I thought I could cope.

oxoman

photonic69 said:

OK I'm going to get a 2x CO2 and 2x Water ones now. Also a fire blanket. We have mains powered smoke detectors throughout the house.

Great idea, but personally I'd get one of each as you would need to either replace or get them recharged after a few yrs. I can't remember the actual lifespan but it's printed on the extinguisher body. We get them all checked at work annually which normally means weighing them and once they get below a certain weight or age they get discharged then refilled. I would suggest getting Co Carbon Monoxide detector added near any gas boilers / fires as well, again these have a shelf / installed life.