paulmarchant t1_j1wd0cw wrote
I did a fire extinguisher course at work a few years back. It was an enormous eye opener for me.
We built fires, out in the car park. Then we got to use a whole bunch of extinguishers on them.
Holy shit. We'd all massively misjudged how well each type would work.
Water: Awesome for most fires (don't use it on burning liquids). Really made a huge difference.
Foam: Not bad for burning solid stuff. Worked really quite well on a quart of burning petrol (gasoline).
Dry powder: Worked well to put out petrol. Also worked well to make it hard to see (outdoors). If you use one in a confined space, you'd better have a good recollection of where the door is to leave, 'cos you ain't going to be able to see your way there. Won't stick to a vertical surface that's on fire.
CO2: If you want to blow burning embers of paper and cardboard everywhere, accept no substitute. If you want to put out a burning solids fire, don't pull the pin, instead use the base of the extinguisher to beat the flames out. You get only a few seconds of CO2, and it's SHOCKINGLY loud in a confined space. I had almost zero success with CO2 - in a controlled environment, with no risk to personal safety, and having had verbal instruction just seconds before.
adamcoe t1_j1xd714 wrote
The vast majority of extinguishers you're likely to encounter in daily life are dry chem. CO2 are generally reserved for electrical fires, so if it's extinguished quickly, the equipment will only be damaged rather than destroyed. Occasionally you see them in kitchens, too, but most places will either have foam or a full on fogging system if it's a bigger setup.
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