Fire extinguishers for the home

evoke

I want to get 2-3 fire extinguishers for my home (one for my garage, one for my summerhouse and one for my kitchen).

What are the important things to be aware of? Do they need recharging/replacing every few years? Where's the best place to buy them?

ormus

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kidde-KSPS1X-Multi-Purpose-Fire-Extinguisher/dp/B002SHR56U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322351390&sr=8-1

ive got these types. it has a gauge to tell you if it needs replacing.
lasts ten yrs or more.

partan

it would be wise to know how to use it, and what to expect when you pull the trigger. If the first time you use a dry powder extinguisher is on a fire in small kitchen, then you may get a bit of a surprise. know their limitations, and remember that personal safety comes first, dont take risks.

System

make sure you get the right one for the potential right job ,cant remember what they are but i know there are different ones.

muckybutt

evoke wrote: »

I want to get 2-3 fire extinguishers for my home (one for my garage, one for my summerhouse and one for my kitchen).

What are the important things to be aware of? Do they need recharging/replacing every few years? Where's the best place to buy them?

I am a BAFE trained extinguisher engineer, for your garage I would recommend a 6L AFFF foam extinguisher which is suitable for flammable liquids and paper fires etc, summer house depends what you have in there if mostly electrical then a CO2 extinguisher otherwise again a 6L AFFF, kitchen go for a fire blanket and / or 2Kg dry powder.

Extinguishers should be serviced yearly this involves checking for corrosion, weighing them, checking seals and hoses arent perished etc. Stored pressure ones like AFFF and Powder need replacing every 5 years and CO2 ones every 10 years.

Dry powder extinguishers are extremely messy which is one reason why they arent used much, CO2 ones are very noisey when discharged so you have to be aware of that too.

Personally speaking I wouldnt advise anyone to have a go at tackling a fire especially in a kitchen or garage, extinguishers are really to aid evacuation and should only be used for fire fighting if you have had training in how to use them.

Never try to service extinguishers yourself, it is extremely dangerous as the contents are stored at very high pressure normally around 15 BAR which is roughly 217 PSI, start fiddling with them and you could easily do a lot of damage to yourself or property or at worst kill yourself. Leave servicing to a trained extinguisher engineer.

ormus

and be careful you dont drop one on yer foot either.
they should have a warning on them like mcdonalds coffee.

GaryS

As per comment above, might also be worth getting a fire blanket for the kitchen.

We have one fitted to the inside of the cupboard door nearest the gas hob.

Powder fire extinguisher is fitted to inside of cupboard under sink, so both are within easy reach.

Lets hope they stay there for a long time.

gmgmgm

It's sometimes cheaper to buy new extinguishers than to have them serviced annually, especially for small domestic ones.

I've used a powder extinguisher for a fire, and was very grateful it was there. They make an awful mess though, so keep a fire blanket around for small fires. If it's too big for a blanket, chances are the fire brigade will be on their way anyway.

Ben84

I'd prefer to have a fire blanket in the kitchen. Likely fires sources there are hot oil which will just splash if sprayed with a fire extinguisher. I don't keep clutter around the gas hob so the chances of something other than the cooking catching fire are pretty low.

evoke

Thanks for the advice, all, especially muckybutt with his trade knowledge. I'll start to look into a fire blanket and a couple of fire extinguishers.

I have heat, CO and smoke alarms already wired into the electrics so just need to finish off the safety equipment for the home.