Fire Classification

FOUR GENERAL CLASSES OF FIRE AS TO ITS CAUSES

1. Natural Fire - fire caused naturally without human intervention or aid, such
as lightning, spontaneous ignition, mechanical malfunction of equipment.

2. Accidental Fire – fire causes where human action is involved directly or

indirectly. i.e. a). Careless disposal of smoking materials; b). Workers using
welding-cutting equipment.

3. Arson – fire cause as a result of the willful and criminal action of some
persons, i.e., incendiary fire.

4. Unknown Fire – fires which are not classified as to cause.

Importance of fire classifications:

• The type or nature of the material burning that is, its fuel, denies the fire.
• The classes of fire are used to identify the extinguishers and extinguishing agents
used to put them out.
Classes of Fire as to its fuel to burn

1. Class A
• Fires involving ordinary combustibles such as: wood, paper, cloth,
plastics and rubber.
• It can be extinguished with water, water-based agents or foam and
multipurpose dry chemicals.
• Water is usually used by the fire department.
2. Class B

• Fires involving flammable and combustible liquids, gases and greases

such as: gasoline, oils, alcohol, propane and cooking oils.
• Common extinguishing agents are carbon dioxide (CO2), regular and
multi-purpose dry chemical and foam.
3. Class C
• Fires involving energized electrical equipment, which eliminates the use of
water-based agents to put them out.
• The recommended method of fighting these fires is to turn-off or
disconnect electrical power and then use an appropriate extinguisher
depending on the remaining fuel source.
• Extinguishing agents includes carbon dioxide (CO2), regular and
multipurpose dry chemical.
4. Class D
• Fires involving combustible metals and alloys such as: magnesium, sodium,
lithium and potassium.
• Great case must be used when attempting to extinguish in these types of fuels.
• Extinguishing agents for this class of fire are called dry powders and should not
be confused with dry chemical.

5. Class k

• Is a new classification of fire as of 1998 and involves fires in combustible

cooking fuels such as vegetable and animal oils and fats.
• Its fuels are similar to Class B fuels but involve high temperature cooking oils
and therefore have special characteristics.
• Class K agents are usually wet chemicals.

6. Class E

• Fires involving high voltage electrical installation and bulk LPG.

• This class of fire needs special firefighting operation by trained personnel.
 FIRE EXTINGUISHER

Portable Fire Extinguishers

• It is a handy aid firefighting equipment.
• It is a portable device used to put out fires of limited size.
• It is a metal container filled with water or chemicals used to put out fires; portable
and easy to operate and can be used to put out small fires before the flames
spread.

Parts of Fire Extinguisher

 Two Types of Fire Extinguishers

Stored Pressure Cartridge Operated

Fire Extinguisher Fire Extinguisher
Limitations of Portable Fire Extinguishers

• It is important to note that fire extinguishers have limited capabilities

and trying to exceed those capabilities can increase the damage done
and cause injuries.

• They are designed for specific purpose.

• It is usually a first aid method for fire extinguishment.

• They are designed and rated with certain types and sizes of fires in
mind.

Cardinal Rule of Fire Extinguishers

“PICK THE RIGHT EXTINGUISHER FOR THE JOB.”

Parts of Portable Fire Extinguishers

▪Handle ▪Siphon Tube
▪Operation Level ▪Label
 ▪Safety Pin ▪Inspection Tag
▪Safety Pin Lock ▪Hose
▪Pressure Gauge ▪Nozzle
▪Cylinder

Kind Cylinder Class of fire Type

Applicability
Dry Chemical Light Red Class A,B & C Stored Pressure
&
Cartridge Type
Dry Powder Ultra-Corrosion Class D Stored Pressure
Resistant Yellow &
Cartridge Type
Carbon Dioxide Dark Red Class B & C Stored Pressure
&
Cartridge Type
Foam Extinguisher Light Blue Class A & B Stored Pressure
(AFFF/FFFP)
Wet Chemical Light Red Class K Stored Pressure
Water Type Stainless Class A Stored Pressure
Clean Agent Dark Green Class A,B & C Stored Pressure

Dry Chemical
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Foam Extinguisher(AFFF/FFFP)
Water Type (Pressurized Water)

Portable Fire Extinguishing Operation

Just remember the word PASS- the four steps of operating a fire extinguishers.
• Pull the pin (then test for pressure.
• Aim the nozzle.
• Squeeze the operating lever.
• Sweep the base of fire.
Other Fire ExtinguisherS
Extinguishing Agents:
1. Class A- Water (all agents).
2. Class B- Foam/CO2 (all agents).
3. Class C- CO2/Powder (never use H2O, Soda Acid and Foam).
4. Class D- Special Powder.
5. Class E- All agents.

TERMINOLOGY
• Fire suppression - This means, slowing down the rate of burning.

• Fire control - This means, keeping the fire from spreading a holding the fire to
one area.

• Fire extinguishment - This means, putting the fire completely out.

• Fire extinguisher - It is a metal container filled with water or chemicals used to

put out fires; portable and easy to operate and can be used to put out small fires
before the flames spread.

• Fire prevention - It is a term for the many safety measures used to keep harmful
fires from starting.

• Thermal Layering of Gases - The thermal layering of gases is the tendency of

gases to form into layers according to temperature. Other terms sometimes used
to describe this tendency are heat stratification and thermal balance. The hot
gases tend to be in the top layer, while the cooler gases from the lower layers.

Or it is the tendency of gases to form into layers according to temperature or the

process of burning in a confined space by which the hottest air is found at the
ceiling and the coolest air at the floor level, is called

• Backdraft - An explosion resulting from the sudden introduction of air

(oxygen) into a confined space containing oxygen-deficient super-heated
products of incomplete combustion is called :

• Flashover – a fire where everything in a confined area ignites at almost the

same time,
 • Roll over – a hazardous condition of fire, where only the gases at the upper
levels are burning and not the entire contents of the room.

• Thermal Plume – a column of hot gases develops during the early development
of a fire.

THEORY OF FIRE EXTINGUISHMENT:

• The way to stop a fire is to remove one of its essential ingredients.
• We have seen that for self-sustaining chemical reaction we call combustion
to occur, four elements are needed: remove one of them and the fire will collapse.

• Fire suppression - This means, slowing down the rate of burning.

• Fire control - This means, keeping the fire from spreading a holding the fire to
one area.

• Fire extinguishment - This means, putting the fire completely out.

 Fire is extinguished by limiting or interrupting one or more of the essential elements
in the combustion process (fire tetrahedron). A fire maybe extinguished by:

a.) COOLING - Reducing its temperature/removing heat

b.) SEPARATION - Removal of available fuel/removing fuel
c.) SMOTHERING - Exclusion of oxygen/removing oxygen

d.) CHEMICAL CHAIN RECTION/Inhibition/interrupting of Self-Sustained

Chemical chain reaction

Chemicals used:

• Potassium bicarbonate (dry chemical)

The effectiveness of extinguisher depends on the amount and type of extinguishing

agent in the extinguisher.