INTRODUCTION A fire extinguisher is an absolute necessity in any home or office.

While there's a good chance that the extinguisher will sit on the wall for years, collecting dust, it could end up saving your property and even your life. In this paper, we'll see exactly what fire extinguishers do and how they do it. We'll also find out what causes fire in the first place, learn the correct way to use an extinguisher and see what sort of fire suppressant works best on different types of fires. Fire is the result of a chemical combustion reaction, typically a reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel (wood or gasoline, for example). Of course, wood and gasoline don't spontaneously catch on fire just because they're surrounded by oxygen. For the combustion reaction to take place, the fuel has to be heated to its ignition temperature. As you can see, there are three essential elements involved in this process: Extreme heat Oxygen (or similar gas) Fuel Fire extinguishers are designed to remove at least one of these elements so that a fire will die out. There are several different ways of doing this, as we'll see in the next section. Inside an Extinguisher Fire extinguishers are sturdy metal cylinders filled with water or a smothering material. When you depress a lever at the top of the cylinder, the material is expelled by high pressure, similar to the way material is forced out of an aerosol can. The diagram below shows a typical design. In this extinguisher, a plastic siphon tube leads from the bottom of the firesuppressant reservoir to the top of the extinguisher. A spring-mounted valve blocks the passageway from the siphon to the nozzle. At the top of the cylinder, there is a smaller cylinder filled with a compressed gas -- liquid

carbon dioxide, for example. A release valve keeps the compressed gas from escaping. To use the extinguisher, you pull out the safety pin and depress the operating lever. The lever pushes on an actuating rod, which presses the spring-mounted valve down to open up the passage to the nozzle. The bottom of the actuating rod has a sharp point, which pierces the gas cylinder release valve.

Extinguisher Ratings Fire extinguishers are rated by the type of fire they can put out. Class A extinguishers can put out fires from "ordinary combustibles" such as wood, plastic or paper. Class B can put out burning liquids such as gasoline or grease. Class C can put out electrical fires. Extinguishers marked A, B and C can put out all types. Class D extinguishers, designed to put out burning metal, are rare. Check the letters and pictures on your extinguisher to find out what it can handle.

Types of Extinguishers Type 1: A water extinguisher can put out things like burning wood, paper or cardboard, but it does not work well on electrical fires or fires involving inflammable liquids. In an electrical fire, the water may conduct the current, which can electrocute you. Water will only spread out an inflammable liquid, which will most likely make the fire worse. Type 2: In a carbon dioxide extinguisher, the carbon dioxide is kept in pressurized liquid form in the cylinder. When the container is opened, the carbon dioxide expands to form a gas in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide gas is heavier than oxygen, so it displaces the oxygen surrounding the burning fuel. This sort of fire extinguisher is common in restaurants because it won't contaminate the cooking equipment or food.

Type 3: The most popular extinguisher material is dry chemical foam or powder, typically made of sodium bicarbonate (normal baking soda), potassium bicarbonate (nearly identical to baking soda), or monoammonium phosphate. Baking soda starts to decompose at only 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), and when it decomposes, it releases carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide, along with the insulation of the foam, works to smother the fire. Conclusion Most fire extinguishers contain a fairly small amount of fire-suppressant material -- you can use it all up in a matter of seconds. For this reason, extinguishers are only effective on relatively small, contained fires. To put out a larger fire, you need much bigger equipment -- a fire engine, for example -- and the professionals who know how to use it. But for the dangerous flames that can pop up in your house, a fire extinguisher is an invaluable lifesaver.

AMAZING FACTS The first fire extinguisher of which there is any record was patented in England in 1723 by Ambrose Godfrey, a celebrated chemist at that time. It consisted of a cask of fire-extinguishing liquid containing a pewter chamber of gunpowder. This was connected with a system of fuses which were ignited, exploding the gunpowder and scattering the solution. The modern fire extinguisher was invented by British Captain George William Manby in 1818; it consisted of a copper vessel of 3 gallons (13.6 liters) of pearl ash (potassium carbonate) solution contained within compressed air. Carbon-tetrachloride extinguishers were withdrawn in the 1950s because of the chemical's toxicityexposure to high concentrations damages the nervous system and internal organs. Additionally, when used on a fire, the heat can convert CTC to Phosgene gas, formerly used as a chemical weapon.

 Methyl bromide was discovered as an extinguishing agent in the 1920s and was used extensively in Europe. It is a low-pressure gas that works by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire and is the most toxic of the vaporizing liquids, used until the 1960s. The vapor and combustion by-products of all vaporizing liquids were highly toxic, and could cause death in confined spaces. It was once thought CO2 worked by cooling, although this effect on most fires is negligible. This characteristic is well known and has led to the widespread misuse of carbon dioxide extinguishers to rapidly cool beverages, especially beer.

HOW TO USE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER It is easy to remember how to use a fire extinguisher if you remember the acronym, PASS. Pull Aim Squeeze Sweep

Bibliography http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/householdsafety/fire/fire-extinguisher.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_extinguisher