What are the three types of firefighting equipment?

Firefighting equipment comes in fixed or portable forms. Some of these tools are designed for use by trained firefighting brigades, while others are easy to use by anyone to extinguish small fires.

Portable Fire Fighting Equipment

Portable fire fighting equipment are fire suppression tools that can be moved easily from one place to another. They are typically used in the early stages of a fire to prevent it from spreading or to extinguish it completely. Some of the most common types of portable fire fighting equipment include:

Fire Extinguishers

Different fire extinguishers are available for different types of fires, and most property owners have them on standby for when fires arise. Buy a fire extinguisher for the flames most likely to develop in your home or structure. If you use the wrong extinguisher, fires may not go out completely. Also, using water extinguishers on electrical fires can damage your equipment. Check the label on the extinguisher. The label can indicate the following:

• Water extinguishers: Aqua-spray fire extinguishers usually carry a red label for easy identification. They are designed for Class A fires, aka fires. These are fires involving wood, cloth, or paper, aka ordinary combustibles. Don’t use water extinguishers for electrical fires unless di-electrically tested.

• Foam extinguishers, aka AB extinguishers, carry a cream label and are for Class A and B fires. These fires involve ordinary combustibles, gasses, or liquids.

• Carbon dioxide extinguishers: CO2 extinguishers carry a black label and are meant for electrical fires as well as burning gasses or liquids

• Dry extinguishers, aka ABC, bear a blue or white label, depending on the agent they carry.  Those containing deionized water mist are labeled white, whereas those containing powder are labeled blue. Dry extinguishers are meant for fires involving typical combustibles, gasses, liquids, and electrical equipment.

Fire extinguishers should be cleaned and inspected regularly. The last thing you want is a fire when your equipment is jammed or empty. Check the pressure gauge to see if it's in the green zone, inspect the hose for kinks and damage, unclog the nozzle, and always ensure the tamper seal is intact.

Fire Hoses

Fire hoses are long, whippy tubes attached to a fire hydrant, fire engine, or other water sources to jet a powerful stream of water to deal with fires that are high up. They are designed for use on large fires. Of course, the hose material is rubber or synthetic to tolerate high pressure. They typically feature a hose reel, holding up to 98.5 ft of tubing. It allows easy unraveling of the hose in case of fires.

Fire hoses can be used as supply hoses to transport water to the scene of a fire, relay hoses to connect fire engines, or booster hoses to fight small fires. You can also fix different nozzles on fire hoses to deal with various fire conditions.

Fire Blankets and Buckets

Fire blankets and buckets are the simplest types of firefighting equipment. A fire bucket is typically a red plastic or metallic bucket labeled ‘Fire’ on its surface. It usually features sand, water, or flame-smothering powder used to prevent or put out fires. You just need to dump the powder/water or sand over the fire repeatedly until the flames are out.

On the other hand, fire blankets are used to choke out small fires in homes and workplaces by simply covering the flames and cutting out the air supply. A 1.2m x 1.2m fire blanket will work just fine in a restaurant or large workshop, while commercial kitchens should get at least a 1.8m x 1.75m blanket. All fire blankets usually feature a special pull flap to open quickly and spread over a fire.

Apart from these three firefighting equipment, it’s also typical to see fire hydrants and sprinklers in structures and buildings.  These are typically meant to automatically activate in case of a fire and put out fires without manual intervention.  In any case, it’s important to have firefighting equipment always ready to deal with the types of fires that might develop on your property.

Macro is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of state-of-the-art firefighting equipment. We are an ISO-certified company with plenty of experience producing fire extinguishers and chemicals to help our customers meet their fire suppression needs effectively and efficiently. If you need help selecting the right type of fire extinguishing equipment for your property, we will be happy to help. Please get in touch for further details.