Selection of fire extinguishers is appropriate for a given t

There are five different types of fire extinguishers in common use in garage premises,these are identified by their colour,as given in the following table:

In addition there are ‘fire buckets’full of sand,and ‘fire blankets’.
Before you use any fire extinguisher you must ask yourself three questions:
1.Can the fire be put out easily?
2.If it cannot be put out easily can the spread of the fire be slowed down or stopped without risk by using an extinguisher?
3.Which fire extinguisher should be used?
To help you to choose the correct fire extinguisher, fires are classified into four classes:

Liquid and gas fires are easily spread by using water,water can also conduct electricity.
Let us look at a few typical examples of fires which sometimes occur in garages:
1.Petrol spillage fire – if this is on the forecourt the need is for quick action. The black carbon dioxide (CO2) extinguisher will put out the fire and not leave a mark anywhere.
2.Fire under the car bonnet,cause unknown--blue extinguisher using dry chemical powder issafe on both petrol and electrical fires,it isalso easily cleaned off and will not damage the engine.
3.Fire in a rubbish bin,cause unknown – the use of a fire bucket full of sand or a fire blanket spread over the top of the bin should extinguish this fire.
Fires need fuel,oxygen from the air and heat. Remove any one of these and the fire will go out. Most fire extinguishers tend to both starve the fire of oxygen and lower the temperature of the fire so that it goes out.