Your Commitment to Fire Extinguisher Servicing

In the following paragraphs I'd like to introduce the subject of servicing your extinguishers and why it's extremely vital.

I'll also go into a bit more detail and introduce a few other issues you should be thinking about when it's time to service your own extinguishers.

In addition to this I'll go over the suitable BSI standards and why you ought to be familiar with them.

Maintenance is not something you'll want to cut corners with. Hopefully you will not ever have to use your extinguishers but if/when you are doing, you should make certain they are safe and sound and available right away.

Relevant BSI Codes of Practice

Even before you contemplate selecting someone to complete your extinguisher maintenance, you'll want to make certain they work in compliance with British Standard Code of Practice 5306 Part 3 - 2009.

BS 5306 is the combination of BSIs British Standards regarding fire extinguishing installations and related equipment. Section 3 is the Code of Practice for any commissioning and maintenance of mobile fire extinguishers.

Since many individuals use mobile units, this is the part which is likely to be the most relevant to your fire extinguisher maintenance needs.

Assessments Carried Out During Maintenance

Choosing a person that works inside the BSI Code of Practice helps you to meet the health and safety regulations in your work environment.

It's also great to learn a little bit about what sort of work needs to be completed on your own units.

Virtually all fire extinguisher types really should be examined for pressure, weight and also for any visible warning signs of problems, for example dents or deterioration.

Pretty much all components, pipes and hoses have to be examined to ensure they operate correctly and labeling really should be checked to make sure they're still quickly readable. Cartridge based units can also be examined internally by opening them up, but don't do this by yourself.

If all of the above are checked at least once a year your maintenance should have done it's job. You're safe knowing if you happen to want to use your units they're going to be available as well as in excellent working order.

Other Relevant Issues to Consider

One thing that's easily overlooked is the fact that water and foam type units which aren't in a heated location through the winter can freeze.

Such models must contain a low temperature additive to stop them from freezing up.

Carbon dioxide extinguishers require traditional maintenance for a decade. After that a hydro-static test must then be caried out.

After this period of time though it's usually a good plan to change the extinguisher for a another one. As your units age there comes a point where it's better and cost efficient to switch them.

Remember that your unwanted fire extinguishers can usually be recycled too.

Ask the local authority or your fire extinguisher servicing company for information regarding recycling your older units.

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Foam Based Fire Extinguishers Explained

Foam extinguishers need to be put on fuel fires in either an aspirated or not aspirated version. Aspirated foam extinguishers are merged and expanded with air inside of a branch tube.

Non aspirated foam builds to develop a frothy cover or seal on the fuel. This prevents oxygen from reaching it. Not like powder extinguishers, foam may be used to extinguish fires devoid of the chance of flashback.

Here's a description of several typical kinds of foam fire extinguisher:

Aqueous Film Forming Foam Units

AFFF foam units are mostly applied to Class A as well as B fires and also for vapour reductions. The sort of foam is often made use of in lightweight foam extinguishers.

The bad side of this sort of foam is it incorporates fluoro tensides which unfortunately can be amassed in the body of a human.

The longer term unwanted side effects with this on people and environment are nevertheless not completely understood.

Alcohol-Resistant Aqueous Film Forming Foams

AR-AFFF extinguishers ought to be applied to fuel fires containing alcohol.

This sort of foam extinguisher makes a membrane in between the fuel and the foam. This prevents the alcohol from wearing down the foam cover, as is the case for other forms of foam units.

Film Forming Fluoroprotein Foam Units

FFFP extinguishers include naturally sourced animal proteins.

In addition, they include manufactured film making agents to create a foam blanket which happens to be more heat resistant in comparison to the AFFF foams, which are usually completely synthetic.

Like AR-AFFF foam extinguishers, FFFP can be quite beneficial on alcohol based liquids. This is why these are frequently used in motorsports and can often be located throughout the pits and at the marshalling areas.

Compressed Air Foam Units

These are very much like air pressurized water with the exception that they will use foam as the extinguishing solution as an alternative to water. They are generally employed to extend a water source in wild land strategies.

They could be utilized on class A fires and with particularly dried foam also on class B fires, where fume suppression is desirable.

Less Typical Foam Types

A less common foam variety is Arctic Fire, used a good deal in the sheet metal business due to it's superb cooling qualities. You can also find the FireAde foaming agent which emulsifies burning liquids and makes them non-flammable. It should be considered that this type of foam still contains water so can react with some metallic fires.

Foam extinguishers are extremely flexible and as you can see from the above, they are available in numerous forms for usage in numerous applications.

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