The Homeowner’s Guide to Fire Extinguishers
Everything You Need to Know About Fire Extinguishers for Your Home
Wherever you live, having fire extinguishers on hand and knowing how to use them can save your life, family, and property. These devices work by spraying out pressurized, fire-retardant materials that can extinguish small fires.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about purchasing, storing, and using fire extinguishers in your home. That way, you’ll be better prepared to stop small fires in their tracks before they become deadly or disastrous.
The Different Types of Fire Extinguishers
When it comes to buying a fire extinguisher that suits your needs, you’ll find a variety of potential options. Today, fire extinguishers are separated into five different “classes,” which denote the type of fires they can actually fight:
- Class A: Ordinary combustibles, like wood, cloth, plastic, and paper.
- Class B: Flammable liquids, like gasoline, oil, and certain paints and solvents.
- Class C: Energized electrical equipment, like appliances and wiring.
- Class D: Combustible metals, like magnesium, lithium, and sodium.
- Class K: Combustible cooking components, like oils and fats.
For the vast majority of typical homeowners or renters, class ABC fire extinguishers are the optimal choice. This rating means that an ABC fire extinguisher is capable of effectively fighting fires from classes A, B, and C.
But, you might be thinking, shouldn’t I have a class K fire extinguisher for my kitchen? While that may seem like the right call, class K fire extinguishers are specifically designed for use in commercial kitchens, where these types of fires are much more common. Combined with good kitchen safety practices, an ABC-rated fire extinguisher should be sufficient for most residential kitchens. It’s also highly unlikely you’ll need a class D extinguisher in your home.
Other Options to Think About
Within any given class, you’ll find fire extinguishers in a variety of weights. These listed weights refer to how much firefighting material they contain—not to how much they weigh in your hand. For home use, these typically range from 5-20 pounds, giving you some options. For starters, make sure you buy fire extinguishers you can physically lift and operate in a pinch.
Generally, 5-pound extinguishers are often a good choice for kitchens, bedrooms, laundry rooms, and other normal indoor spaces. For workshops, garages, or other areas that tend to house more combustible materials, you could benefit from the bigger punch contained in a 10- or 20-pound canister.
You also have the option to buy either disposable or rechargeable fire extinguishers. Disposables can only be used once and, if left unused long enough, will eventually expire. A rechargeable model, in contrast, can be refilled after each use or if they lose pressure or functionality during storage.
Regardless of what options you choose, the U.S. Fire Administration recommends that you only use fire extinguishers that feature the UL or ULC certification, which proves it’s been tested for safety and performance by Underwriters Laboratories. These products will also list UL ratings; a higher UL rating means the extinguisher can handle a larger fire. Check out this article for a quick breakdown on understanding these numeric ratings.
How Many Fire Extinguishers Do You Need?
If you wanted to get a little bit technical, you could divide the total floor area of your home by the amount of floor area each extinguisher can cover to find out how many extinguishers you really need. But you could also take a less precise, more “common sense” approach. Either way, the number of fire extinguishers you need in your home will depend on the size and layout of your property (and on the specific extinguishers you actually purchase).
For most homes, here are some good rules of thumb for thinking about buying and storing fire extinguishers to keep yourself safe. You should have at least one fire extinguisher:
- On every floor of your home, including basements and attics
- In your kitchen—cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the U.S.
- In your garage
- In your bedroom for quick access at night
- Near any potential fire hazards, like fireplaces
Within each of these spaces, make sure your fire extinguishers are readily accessible, stored along normal routes of travel and with access to an exit path out of the home. And, remember, outside of the expense, there’s no good reason not to play it safe and ensure maximal coverage throughout your property.
How to Use Your Fire Extinguishers
Long before a fire begins, make sure you’ve read the manufacturer’s instructions for your fire extinguishers and understand how to use them. If there are other adults in the home, make sure they understand where the extinguishers are stored and how to properly use them as well.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, you shouldn’t train children to use a fire extinguisher. Instead, teach them to simply get themselves to safety as fast as they can in the event of any fire.
If a small fire does break out in your home, quickly plan an escape route, then grab your nearest extinguisher and get ready to use it. If the fire is too big or moving too fast, save yourself, get outside immediately, and call 9-1-1. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association says you should only stick around and use a fire extinguisher when:
- The fire is confined to a small area and isn’t growing.
- Everyone else is out of the building.
- Somebody has already called 9-1-1.
- The room isn’t filled with smoke.
If these conditions are met and you’re ready to use your extinguisher, always keep your back towards a clear exit path. Stand six to eight feet back from the fire, and remember to use the P.A.S.S. acronym to fight the fire with maximum efficacy:
- Pull the fire extinguisher’s pin.
- Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire; the spray will only last a matter of seconds, so make sure you’re aimed at the base right from the start.
- Squeeze the lever or handle to discharge the firefighting materials.
- Sweep the nozzle back and forth along the base of the fire, moving side to side until the extinguisher is empty; work from the outside edges into the center of the fire—never start in the center.
Once you’ve extinguished the fire, keep a close eye on it while you wait for the fire department to arrive. Embers or sparks you might not be able to detect could flare up into another fire.
If you aren’t feeling especially confident about how to use your fire extinguisher, stop by your local fire station. They’d be happy to show you the ropes, and many departments run fire extinguisher trainings and live practice sessions as well.
Maintaining Your Fire Extinguisher
Many fire extinguishers do expire or lose pressure over time (most have a life expectancy between 5 to 12 years)—so don’t wait for a fire to break out to realize your extinguisher is out of commission. Basic inspections and as-needed maintenance are crucial. For starters, check your manufacturer’s instructions to make sure you’re staying on top of any required maintenance needs for your specific extinguisher.
As a rule of thumb, check all your fire extinguishers once a month and have them serviced/inspected annually by a professional or if anything seems out of place. Rechargeable fire extinguishers will typically need to be refilled or recharged about every five years. During your monthly inspection, check the pressure gauge to make sure the needle is in the green zone. Also check that the safety pin is still present and that the entire device is free of rust, corrosion, and damage. If any of these are out of place, fix or replace the unit. And if a fire extinguisher has been exposed to fire or its expiration date passes, replace it.
If you do need to toss an old fire extinguisher, don’t throw it away in the trash. Reach out to your fire department, who may have recycling or other programs in place, and they’ll let you know what to do.
Don’t Stop There
Maintaining functional fire extinguishers in proper locations throughout your home is just one of several things you should do to protect your family and property from the risks of fire.
Make sure you’ve also got working smoke detectors placed throughout your home (check these regularly as well). Put together a fire escape plan of action, and practice it thoroughly so that everyone in the house understands exactly what to do. Of course, you should also make sure to have your chimneys, air ducts, and dryer vents inspected and sweeped/cleaned on a regular basis by a trusted organization like Fresh Sweeps. These services can play a key role in minimizing your risk of fire. And if you’re interested in learning more about fire safety at home, check out this webpage from the American Red Cross.
Taking these few simple steps to prepare for the worst can make all the difference in the world when disaster strikes. We hope you’ll follow these fire extinguisher best practices to minimize your risk and help protect what matters most.
*Along with our in-house expertise, we consulted several independent sources to help ensure we’re giving you the best possible information. These include the National Fire Protection Association, the U.S. Fire Administration, Square One, This Old House, Farm Bureau Financial Services, VYRD, Kidde, and Utah Fire Equipment.