When there is a fire, and you see a fire extinguisher nearby, your instinct is probably to just grab it and start spraying, but did you know that there are certain types of fire extinguishers for different types of fires? You might not realize that there are more than one type of fire. Usually, fires are categorized into 5 different types, all with distinctive properties that might make a fire extinguisher that works for one type of fire dangerous to use with another.
Printed on a fire extinguisher you will usually find a combination of 5 different letters A, B, C, D and K. D fires are very unusual, and not something that most of us would experience. This is the designation for fires in combustible metals. Fires designated A are in regular combustible materials such as paper and wood. B is in petroleum-based materials such as gasoline. C fires shouldn’t be extinguished with water since they are electrical, and the same goes for K fires which are in animal fats and fryer oil.
So before you use a fire extinguisher, make sure the one you have on hand is the right type for the fire you are going to use it on.
