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28 March 2024

Few in UAE know how to use a fire extinguisher; here's how

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

Do you know how to use a fire extinguisher? That is the question we asked residents of Dubai this week.

Surprisingly, there were only a few people who knew how to operate the cylinder.

Be it in the house, at work or in the car; a fire extinguisher should be present in confined spaces.

Most residents knew where to find the nearest fire extinguisher in these places. In addition, most people said they would use the fire extinguisher if a small fire erupted.

However, presented with a fire extinguisher the majority of people questioned could only guess how they would go about the operation.

PASS

They key word in using the fire extinguisher is PASS, an internationally recognised connotation for the phrase Pull, Aim, Squeeze and Sweep.

The first step in using a fire extinguisher is to 'pull' the safety pin. This pin is located at the handle. Removing it enables the user to operate the extinguisher.

The direction to 'aim' the extinguishing indicates the point at which the substance should be targeted. This is the base of the fire, rather than the flames that have surrounded it.

The person should then 'squeeze' the handle, and make a 'sweeping' motion while extinguishing the fire.

What kind of fire extinguisher?

Other than operating the fire extinguisher, it is important to know when to use it. This depends on the kind of fire, and the kind of fire extinguisher that is available.

Not many residents were able to tell what kind of fire extinguisher was placed in their house, office, or vehicle. Although some were able to identify the colour of the cylinder, little did they know what this colour implied.

The most common extinguishers for public use are the red and black cylinder. Whereas a red cylinder contains water, a black cylinder contains Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

A red cylinder can be used to extinguish fires that are categorised as a class A fire. This class of fire typically includes solids such as paper, wood, or plastic. Important to note is that this extinguisher may not be used to extinguish a fire including flammable liquids such as paraffin, petrol, and oil (class B fire).

A fire extinguisher containing CO2 is ideal to extinguish electrical fires (class E fire). In addition it can also be used to extinguish the aforementioned class B fire. However, when using a black fire extinguisher it is important to know that it does not provide post-fire security; the fire could re-ignite after extinguishing it.

Less common are the foam cylinder and the dry-powder cylinder. Foam can be used in both A and B class fires, while dry powder extinguishes both these fires and class C fires, which include flammable gases such as propane, butane, and methane. Reason that these extinguishers are less frequently found in the public domain might be because they are more costly.

Civil Defense has included the proper use of fire extinguishers in their National Campaign for Families Domestic Safety. However, it emphasises that only when one's life is not at risk an attempt to extinguish the fire should be made.

Tip: check the expiry date on the cylinder, fire extinguishers have a limited life-span.