If the gauge gets low, it flashes a red light and sounds an alert, reminding you to get the extinguisher refilled. It also sounds an alert when the extinguisher has been pulled from the wall, as it would be during a fire. And like a smoke detector, the sensor beeps when the battery is low. A more elaborate version can be wired to a house's security system; the alarm company gets a signal when the extinguisher is used and can, in turn, call Amerex www.
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Pinterest Email Pocket Flipboard. Size of Extinguisher Matters The main distinction among home extinguishers is size. Every household extinguisher is labeled A, B, or C. Courtesy of the National Fire Protection Association. Courtesy First Alert. Smart Indoor Camera. Smart Indoor Siren. Smart Door And Window Sensors. Smart Outdoor Camera with Siren. Smart Outdoor Camera. Smart Smoke Alarm. Smart Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
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Home fire extinguishers: vital safety equipment in the event of a fire. What type of fire extinguisher should you select for your home? We are open to considering future releases from the company, but for now we think you have better options. In researching this guide, we spoke to a number of experts in the fire-safety industry: Joseph Keenan, assistant fire marshal of the Burlington Vermont Fire Department; Arthur Raynor, fire education specialist with the Atlanta Fire Department; Barry Chase, senior fire protection engineer at the National Fire Protection Association ; John Drengenberg, consumer safety director at UL; Timothy Sendelbach, editor-in-chief of Firehouse Magazine , with 30 years of experience in fire and safety services; and Tom Kiurski, training coordinator and director of fire safety education for Livonia, Michigan, as well as a columnist with FireRescue1.
Kiurski has 35 years of experience in the fire services. Previous to that, Guyette spent 25 years as a firefighter, with 10 of those years as fire chief of the Spofford New Hampshire Fire Department. In addition, we spoke with Craig Voelkert, VP of sales at Amerex, a leading manufacturer of fire extinguishers and other fire-safety products. On top of that, we read as much as we could on fire extinguishers, focusing primarily on the information from various safety organizations such as the NFPA and OSHA , as well as the buying guides at This Old House and Fine Homebuilding.
Lastly, we scoured manufacturer websites for technical details. As for my own background, I spent 10 years working on construction sites as a carpenter, foreman, and jobsite supervisor, and I was on the safety committee, where one of my duties was supplying and inspecting our jobsite fire extinguishers. Nearly every expert we spoke with stressed the importance of learning how and when to use an extinguisher.
In the best situation, a fire extinguisher is just one part of a comprehensive fire plan, which also includes functioning smoke alarms , escape ladders , and an exterior meeting place.
It also involves general knowledge of what to do in case of a fire, such as staying low in a smoky room and testing door handles for heat before opening. Every extinguisher is rated according to the fire or fires that it is effective against. The models we recommend all have an ABC rating, which means they contain a chemical agent that can put out Class A fires wood, paper, trash, cloth, some plastics and Class B fires flammable liquids , and Class C fires, which involve energized electrical equipment.
These three types of fire are the most common fires in the home. There are also Class D flames, which are the result of burning metals such as magnesium and titanium, and Class K flames, which come from burning fat and cooking oil.
Every single one of the experts we spoke with recommended an extinguisher with an ABC rating. Simply put, ABC extinguishers are the standard for home use. If you use it on electrically charged equipment, such as a live appliance, you have a high chance for shock. You can find a few kinds of ABC-rated extinguishers. The most common and affordable use monoammonium phosphate as the extinguishing agent. The added cost pays for a chemical that leaves no residue and is noncorrosive neither of which is a characteristic of monoammonium phosphate.
These extinguishers are cost-prohibitive for home use but ideal for certain industries, such as aircraft applications or in areas where a lot of sensitive electrical or computer equipment is present. While the letters explain what types of fires an extinguisher can handle, the numbers give a sense of the capabilities of the extinguisher.
Choose one that you and others in your home can easily manage—larger models start to get heavy. Consumer Reports suggests buying the largest model that everyone can handle. Given this, we limited our search to roughly 10 pounds. The NFPA recommends a minimum of a 2A BC extinguisher on each floor, but our research found that many companies offer more-powerful 3A BC extinguishers at no additional weight or cost. We opted for the more effective size—why not have more firefighting ability? We looked for fire extinguishers that are readily available at Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, or other nationwide stores, like Sears.
We found that Kidde, First Alert, and Amerex have the strongest representation, reasonable pricing, and UL certification, so we concentrated on those companies. Other manufacturers, such as Ansul, Oval, and Stop Fyre, focus almost exclusively on commercial sales, and their smaller models are priced beyond those of Kidde, First Alert, and Amerex.
With several qualified options, we sought a brand with a good price, a solid reputation, and consistent availability. This model can effectively combat common fires ranging from burning wood and cloth to burning liquids.
It can safely extinguish an electrical fire, as well. Equipped with a metal valve, the First Alert PRO5 is also rechargeable, which offers you more reliability and the potential for long-term cost savings. We found that in stepping up to the larger size, you get very little upgrade in weight or cost. As for the weight, both sizes contain 5 pounds of chemical agent and weigh, in total, around 9 or 10 pounds. The PRO5, like all of our picks, is a rechargeable extinguisher with a metal valve and handle.
Such models offer reliability and the potential for cost benefits over disposable extinguishers with plastic valves and handles. We need to note, though, that the firefighting abilities are the same between the two styles. We also found that disposable extinguishers have a track record of reliability issues. Kidde, a major manufacturer of disposable extinguishers, issued a recall of around 40 million units in due to issues with discharge and nozzle detachment—and that was after it recalled 4.
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