Having a fire extinguisher is an important and essential part of any good fire safety campaign. This is because they are easy to use, light enough to be handheld and operated very quickly and come in different sizes. Making them small and portable enough to be easily stored in potentially hazardous locations like kitchens etc. All of this means that they an excellent tool to put out and extinguish small fires, thereby helping to prevent serious injury or even loss of life.
On this page we will give you information on the various fire extinguishers for sale in shops and specialist stores. We will also give you useful information on the different types that are available, and how they can help with fire prevention in your home and workplace.
In the UK there are many suppliers and manufacturers of fire extinguishers that sell their products to the public as well as to retail. These are suitable to use in either a home environment or business office surroundings, and can be free standing or wall mounted with brackets. Currently UK Health & Safety Executive regulations require all extinguishers to be coloured red, this helps them stand out in any surrounding.
When every you are looking to purchase one always ensure that the fire extinguisher for sale comes with a warranty and is kite marked to BSEN3 standards to meet approved fire safety requirements. Now there are many different types of fire extinguishers on sale, they each discharge and expel different types of agents like foam, CO2, chemicals or just plain water to snuff out a blaze. It is important that you have the correct type of extinguisher for your building. For instance if you store flammable materials like petrol in your workplace then you should have foam fire extinguishers and not water ones.
fire extinguisher servicing and maintenance
Fire safety consultants strongly advice that they should be regularly checked and serviced to ensure that they are working properly. This maintenance should be done by a professional and competent person to ensure the highest standards are met. You should regularly check to ensure that the fire suppression systems are correctly pressurized, lift them up to feel the weight, and also look on the outside of the fire extinguisher for any for any signs of damage or corrosion. After each inspection they should be dated and stamped.
The last thing you want to be doing is to try to put out a fire using a faulty fire extinguisher that is not discharging its agent correctly.
Different types of fire extinguishers you can purchase:-
Water fire extinguishers
As the name suggests these are filled with plain water up to 9 litres. Quite simply water is expelled out of the extinguisher directly onto the fire itself. Fire safety consultants advise that these should not be used on liquid fires or those near to electric connections.
Foam fire extinguishers
In specialist fire extinguisher shops these tend to cost slightly more than other models. They are typically used to put out small class B fires involving flammable liquids such as oil and fuel. Meaning they are better suited for kitchens etc.