Dry chemical extinguishers have a number of uses, so they are good to keep in homes, businesses, and industrial buildings. There are a few different types of fire extinguishers on the market, so it's important to know the type you need and buy the right one. A dry chemical extinguisher is a good choice since it works on different types of fires. Here's what these extinguishers can be used on. 

Class A Fires Involving Combustibles

Class A fires are fires that involve burning paper, cardboard, cloth, plastic, and other materials that burst into flames. This is a common type of house fire, and you could buy a Class A fire extinguisher for this type of fire, but you couldn't use the extinguisher for any other type of fire.

To avoid confusion, it's safer to keep a dry chemical extinguisher in your house to fight this type of fire as well as others. The chemicals put out the fire by coating the burning items with powder and cutting off their contact with oxygen that acts as fuel for the fire. Without fuel, the fire dies.

Class B Fires Involving Flammable Liquids

A Class B fire is a fire with burning gasoline, grease, oil, paint, or other flammable substance. The dry chemicals smother the fire and stop the chemical reaction that keeps the fire alive. You may not encounter many of these fires in the home, so you probably wouldn't want to store a Class B fire extinguisher when you could use the same dry chemical fire extinguisher you have for other fires.

One caution to keep in mind when handling a grease fire in the kitchen is that the fire may go out and reignite. As long as you watch for this problem and use the extinguisher as often as necessary until the fire dies completely, a dry chemical fire extinguisher can be used safely for home kitchen fires. However, commercial operations and restaurants will probably use a Class K extinguisher that uses foam rather than powder so the fire stays out.

Class C Fires Involving Electricity

Class C fires can be dangerous because they involve live electricity. You could be seriously hurt by using a fire extinguisher that uses water on an electrical fire. However, you can safely spray a burning outlet with a dry chemical extinguisher and the flames will be smothered. Since electrical fires are always a possibility, it's good to have a fire extinguisher on hand you can safely use. The ABC fire extinguisher is a dry chemical extinguisher that's useful for combustible, flammable liquid, and electrical fires.

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