Fire Extinguishers

londonman81

Not sure if this is the right forum but I would like to buy a fire extinguisher for home use.

My question is whether this is allowed, or do I have to be qualified or certified in some way before buying and (possibly) using a fire extinguisher?

Can I just buy one straight-away?

The_Pedant

This would probably be better off in the In my home forum.

To answer your question though, in the home, I don't believe that there is any specific training requirement, as the small extinguishers for the home are readily available.

I would advise fully reading any documentation that comes with any fire extinguisher, and make sure you are fully familiar with when you can use which type of extinguisher, and how to use it correctly. Using the wrong type of extinguisher etc can have fatal consequences. They are only intended for very early response to a small fire.

As a starting point, you could check out the Direct.gov.uk page on home firefighting equipment: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/FireSafety/DG_071772

Your local region's fire prevention officers may be able to advise further.

Hope that helps.

fwor

No qualifications required - for anyone who knows the basics, any fire extinguisher is better than no fire extinguisher, because tackling a fire early is key to minimising damage. Just make sure you know which ones to use where - for example:

http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/extinguishers.php

For the average home use, you'll probably want a powder one - messy but effective on most things.

MushyPeas

Where I live you can arrange for the local fire brigade to come and visit your house and advise on fire safety. They installed 2 smoke detectors for free and talked through exit strategies. They also advised that a kitchen fire extinguisher isn't worth it, a blanket is better. Also, no matter what happens, to call them.

Hope that's useful.

elektra-2007

Ive got 2 only small ones came with brackets to put on the wall, 1 from argos and one from halfords had them yrs.
You can buy them from amazon, just look online.

Inactive

elektra-2007 wrote: »

Ive got 2 only small ones came with brackets to put on the wall, 1 from argos and one from halfords had them yrs.
You can buy them from amazon, just look online.

They do have a " shelf life " you may wish to check yours.;)

I think that they should be compulsory in the home and garage.