What Is Fire ?

Fire is a chemical reaction that converts a fuel

and oxygen into carbon dioxide and water. It is
an exothermic reaction, in other words, one
that produces heat.
What Is the Fire Triangle?

The fire triangle, or combustion triangle, is the

three components needed to ignite and sustain
a fire. The three ingredients of a fire triangle
are;
heat, fuel and oxygen.
What Is the Fire Tetrahedron?
The Triangle of Combustion symbolized the
concept of fire for a long time and represented
heat, fuel, and oxygen. Further research into
fire led to the conclusion that a fourth element
was a necessary component of fire, which is a
chemical chain reaction. The fire triangle was
subsequently changed to a fire
tetrahedron (also referred to as fire diamond,
pyramid, or combustion triangle) to reflect the
fourth element.
A tetrahedron is best described as a pyramid, which is a
solid with four plane faces. All the four elements essentially
must be present for the occurrence of fire i.e. oxygen, heat,
fuel, and a chemical chain reaction. If you remove any of
the essential elements, the fire will be extinguished.

The four elements are oxygen for sustaining combustion,

enough heat for raising the material to the ignition
temperature, combustible material or fuel, and a
subsequent exothermic chain reaction in the material.

All the four sides of the fire tetrahedron symbolise the

Heat, Oxygen, Fuel, and Chemical Chain Reaction. Fire
extinguishers theoretically put fire out by taking away one
or more elements that make up the fire tetrahedron.
Control measure knowledge

The fire tetrahedron identifies the four

components needed for burning to take place.
To extinguish a fire it is largely a matter of
depriving the fire of one or more of these
factors, so methods of extinguishing fire can be
classified in terms of removing these factors.

All fires can be extinguished by cooling,

smothering, starving or by interrupting the
combustion process to extinguish the fire.
METHODS OF EXTINGUISHING FIRE
1.Cooling: limiting temperature by increasing the
rate at which heat is lost from the burning
material.

2. Smothering: limiting oxygen by preventing air

from reaching the seat of the fire to allow the
combustion process to reduce the oxygen
content in the confined atmosphere until it
extinguishes itself.
3. Starving: limiting fuel by removing potential
fuel from the vicinity of the fire, removing the
fire from the mass of combustible materials or
by dividing the burning material into smaller
fires that can be extinguished more easily.

4. Interrupting: inhibiting the chemical chain

reaction by applying extinguishing media to the
fire that inhibit the chemical chain reaction at
the molecular level.
Cooling

One of the most common methods of

extinguishing a fire is by cooling with water.
This process depends on cooling the fuel to a
point where it does not produce sufficient vapor
to burn, with the reduction in temperature
dependent on the application of an adequate
flow of water to establish a negative heat
balance. For example, if the rate at which heat is
generated by combustion is lower than the rate
at which it is lost from the burning material,
burning will not continue.
To extinguish a fire by cooling, the rate at
which heat energy is lost from the burning
material must be increased by removing some
of the heat energy. This reduces the
temperature of the burning mass, reducing the
heat release rate. Eventually, the rate at which
heat is lost from the fire may be greater than
the rate of heat production and the fire will die
away.
When water is applied, it undergoes changes as it
absorbs heat from the fire:
* Its temperature will rise.
*It may evaporate (boil) .
*It may react chemically with the burning
material.
Water is a good cooling agent because of its high
thermal capacity and latent heat of vaporization.
This, combined with the fact it is available in large
quantities, makes it by far the most widely useful fire
extinguishing agent.
Smothering

If the oxygen supply to the burning material can

be sufficiently reduced, burning will cease. The
general procedure is to prevent fresh air from
reaching the seat of the fire, allowing the
combustion to reduce the oxygen content in the
confined atmosphere until it extinguishes itself,
for example by:
*Snuffing out candles.
*Smothering a pan with a fire blanket.
*Wrapping a person in a fire blanket .
*Applying a blanket of foam over the burning
surface, thus separating the fuel from the air.
Smothering can also be achieved by removing
the oxygen in the atmosphere, thus
extinguishing the fire, for example, by:
 
*Introducing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) to the
immediate vicinity of the fire.
*Introducing an inert gas to the immediate
vicinity of the fire, such as through systems
installed to protect computer server rooms.
Starvation

In some cases, a fire can be extinguished

simply by removing the fuel source. This may
be accomplished in a number of ways, such as
stopping the flow of liquid or gaseous fuel,
removing solid fuel in the path of the fire or
allowing the fire to burn until all of the fuel is
consumed.
Fires can be starved of fuel by removing potential
fuel from the vicinity of the fire, for example:

*Back burning forestry fires.

*Draining fuel from burning oil tanks.
*Removing cargo from a ship's hold.
*Creating firebreaks in peat, heath land and
forest fires.
*Removing vehicles in the proximity of the fire.
*Creating firebreaks in thatch roofs.
Interrupting

Interrupting the combustion process

Dry powder, Bromo chloro difluoromethane
(BCF) and other halon extinguishers work by
releasing atoms that interrupt the chemical
chain reaction. They also create an inert gas
barrier.
Types of fire extinguishers

There are five different fire extinguishers,

which are:

1.Water, water mist or water spray fire

extinguishers
2.Foam fire extinguishers
3.Dry Powder – standard or specialist fire
extinguishers
4.Carbon Dioxide (‘CO2’) fire extinguishers
5.Wet Chemical fire extinguishers
Fire extinguisher types chart

This chart visualizes the fire extinguisher types

and the types of fire for which they are suitable,
as well as their colour codes.
Fire extinguisher types and uses

Water type fire extinguishers (red label)

Water type extinguishers are only used for Class A

fires. Therefore, red coded extinguishers can be used
to tackle fires caused by ignited paper, wood, straw,
coal, rubber, solid plastics and soft furnishings. Water
fire extinguishers work by spraying water from the
spray nozzle, which helps to cover larger surface
area. They are the simplest, most common, and least
expensive type of extinguisher. Some have an additive
to make the water more effective and reduce the
required size and weight of the extinguisher – these
are a little more expensive.
Water type fire extinguisher
Water type extinguishers are the easiest to maintain
variety and the least hazardous, since they only
contain water. They cool the fire by soaking it and
the materials with water. This extinguishes the
flames, absorbing heat from burning objects.

They are often found in shops, offices, retail

premises, schools, hotels, warehouses and domestic
premises. They may have spray or jet nozzles and
are usually able to put out a fire completely. A
drawback is that they cannot be used on burning fat
or oil (Class F), burning metals (Class D), burning
liquids (Class B) or electrical appliance fires.
Water mist extinguishers

The newest type of extinguisher. These very powerful, but smaller,

devices exude an ultra-fine mist of microscopic ‘dry’ demineralised
water particles. They are safe and effective to use on Class A, B, C
and F fires, making it unnecessary to supply more than one type of
extinguisher in most premises. Some water mist extinguishers are
also suitable for use on electrical fires on equipment up to 1,000
Volts, such as computers and printers.

They work by cooling the fire and reducing the oxygen supply. These
devices are likely to replace wet chemical extinguishers for the
extinction of deep fat fryer fires, and leave no residue or collateral
damage. Like water extinguishers, they are recyclable and do not
contain any chemicals. However, they cannot be used on Class D fires
(metals).

Water mist extinguishers are more expensive than water

extinguishers.
Water mist extinguisher
Water spray fire extinguishers

Available in three and six litres, water spray fire

extinguishers are suitable to fires involving
organic solid materials such as wood, cloth,
paper, plastics or coal. Use on burning fat or oil
or on electrical appliances is a big no-no.

Use involves pointing the jet at the base of the

flames and moving it constantly and steadily
across the fire until extinguished.
Foam extinguishers (cream label)

The foam smothers the fire in solids and liquids

(Class A and B), but not in burning fats or
cooking oils (Class F), so foam fire
extinguishers are used on burning liquids such
as petrol, paint or turpentine. 
Foam extinguisher
 Dry powder extinguishers (blue label)

Powder fire extinguishers are used for fighting burning solids, liquids and
gases (Class A, B and C fires). Specialist powder extinguishers are designed
to tackle type D fires involving combustible metals such as lithium,
magnesium, or aluminum.

They work by the powder forming a crust which smothers the fire and stops
it from spreading.

Disadvantages are that the powder does not soak into materials and does
not have an effective cooling effect on the fire, which can result in the fire
reigniting. The powder is hazardous if inhaled, so they should be used in
well-ventilated areas and are not suitable for offices and domestic
premises. The powder damages soft furnishings, machinery, etc, and needs
a lot of cleaning up after use. They cannot be used on chip pan fires (Class
F).

They are generally inexpensive and powerful and come in 1, 2, 4, 6 and

9-kg sizes.
Dry powder extinguisher
These contain only pressurized carbon dioxide gas and therefore leave no
residue. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) extinguishers are used on fires involving
CO2 extinguishers (black label)

burning liquids (Class B), and electrical fires, such as of large computer
equipment, so are practical in offices. CO2 works by suffocating the fire
and does not cause damage to the electrical items or cause the system to
short circuit.

However, CO2 extinguishers get very cold during discharge, and those
that are not fitted with double-lined, frost-free swivel horns may cause
fingers to freeze to the horn during deployment. They can asphyxiate in
confined spaces, and they are not suitable for deep fat fryers, as the
strong jet from the extinguisher can carry the burning fat out of the fryer.
Fires can quickly re-ignite once the CO2 has dissipated into the
atmosphere, so they do not offer post-fire security.

CO2 extinguishers are quite expensive. but suitable for server rooms and
factories.
CO2 extinguisher
 Wet chemical extinguishers (yellow label)
These are the only extinguishers apart from water mist
suitable for Class F oil fires (fats and cooking oils) and
are mainly used in kitchens with deep fat fryers. They
can also be used on Class A and some can be used on
Class B fires. They consist of a pressurized solution of
alkali salts in water, which, when operated, creates a
fine mist, cooling the flames and preventing splashing.
More expensive than some other extinguishers.
 A deep fryer (also referred to as a deep fat fryer),
is a kitchen appliance used for deep frying. Deep
frying is a method of cooking by submerging food into
oil at high heat, typically between temperatures of 350
°F and 375 °F (175 °C to 190 °C).
Wet chemical extinguisher
 Which fire extinguisher types to use
Class A fire extinguisher – water, water mist,
foam, dry powder, wet chemical
Class B fire extinguisher – water mist, foam, dry
powder, CO2, some wet chemical
Class C fire extinguisher – water mist, dry powder
Class D fire extinguisher – specialist dry powder
Electrical fire extinguisher – CO2
Class F fire extinguisher – water mist, wet
chemical.
How to use a fire extinguishing
The 4 steps to use a fire extinguishing

PULL... Pull the pin. This will also break the

tamper seal.
AIM... Aim low, pointing the extinguisher nozzle
(or its horn or hose) at the base of the fire. ...
SQUEEZE... Squeeze the handle to release the
extinguishing agent.
SWEEP... Sweep from side to side at the base of
the fire until it appears to be out.