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Fire Extinguisher

Fire Extinguishers are used to put out dangerous and threatening fires. A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e. no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department.

Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire. There are two main types of fire extinguishers: Stored pressure and generated pressure. In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself.

Fire extinguishers are further divided into handheld and cart-mounted, also called wheeled extinguishers. Handheld extinguishers weigh from 1 to 30 pounds, and are hence easily portable by hand. Cart-mounted units typically weigh 50+ pounds. These wheeled models are most commonly found at construction sites, airport runways, heliports, as well as docks and marinas.

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