It is very important that you NEVER try to put out a fire yourself - always dial 999 for the Fire Brigade. However, it is still important that you can tell and understand which types of Fire Extinguishers are suitable for a particular fire.

Water

Water extinguishers are suited for most fires except:

Flammable liquids - adding water to a burning liquid will only help to spread the fire.

Electrical equipment - water is a very lethal conductor of electricity and could cause injury. Read more about electricity

Dry Powder

Dry powder is suited to fires involving flammable liquids and electrical appliances.

How does powder put out a fire?

Simple. Fire needs three things to keep it going - Heat, Fuel and Oxygen. The powder smothers the fire and stops it getting the oxygen it needs - putting it out.

Learn more about the Fire Triangle

Carbon Dioxide

Like the powder extinguishers, this type of extinguisher is suitable for flammable liquids and electrical equipment.

It also works in the same way. By swamping the fire with Carbon Dioxide (CO²), it can't get enough Oxygen and so goes out.

People work the same way. We need Oxygen to breathe and when we breathe out - most of the gas we breathe out is Carbon Dioxide. We would not be able to survive long if the major gas in the air was Carbon Dioxide.

Foam

This extinguisher is suited to most fire involving flammable liquids. Again, it works by smothering the fire, rather than cooling down and damping the flames.