Fire Extinguishers

The majority of our fire extinguishers are 'stored pressure fire extinguishers', the most common type of extinguisher these days, although we also offer cartridge operated extinguishers for marine applications etc. All our extinguishers are of course fully charged, ready to go and are supplied with wall brackets. We also offer businesses the installation and certification of the extinguishers at your site by our BAFE certified engineers. This ensures full compliance with the latest BSI standards and any insurance stipulations.
Safelincs also offers nationwide maintenance of fire extinguishers. Our prices are competitive and clear and there will be no nasty surprises with our pricing, as we include all consumables in the price we quote.
We are also very proud to be able to offer our self-maintenance fire extinguishers from Britannia, which do not not require service engineers for the guaranteed 10 year lifespan of the extinguisher.

We offer all major fire extinguisher types, all with their distinct advantages and strengths. Here a short overview of the fire extinguisher types:

CO2 fire extinguishers

CO2 fire extinguishers use pure carbon dioxide to suffocate fire and leave behind no residue once the fire is extinguished. They were originally designed for class B fires, which are flammable liquid fires, such as oil, petrol and solvents, however, these days CO2 extinguishers are mainly used for the fire fighting on live electrical equipment. They are usually installed next to foam extinguishers in offices with computers. The size of CO2 extinguishers is stated in kg (of CO2 gas) and the portable CO2 extinguishers weigh 2 and 5 kg. In addition to our brandnew CO2 fire extinguishers we offer fully factory refurbished CO2 (pressure tested and re-painted). A specialist version of the CO2 extinguisher is the anti-magnetic extinguisher, which is installed in areas of high magnetic activity, such as hospitals' MRI scanner suites.

Powder fire extinguishers

Powder fire extinguishers (also called ABC powder extinguishers or dry powder extingushers) are powerful and versatile and can be used for class A (burning solids), class B (burning liquids) and class C (burning gas) fires. They can not be used on fat fires and deep fat fryer fires, as their jet would spread the burning fat. They should also not be used in confined spaces (small kitchen or boat cabins), as the powder can easily be inhaled. The residue of the powder makes the clean up after a discharge very difficult. We also stock a special powder fire extinguisher used for class D fires of flammable metals such as burning magnesium swarf. When comparing powder fire extinguishers, please note that BC powder extinguishers do not offer the same protection as ABC powder extinguishers.

Water fire extinguishers

Water fire extinguishers are used on class A fires of solid combustible materials, such as wood, fabric and paper. The water penetrates burning materials to cool down the fire, which extinguishes the fire and stops it re-igniting. Near electrical equipment you should choose water fire extinguishers with additives, as these prevent electrocution. A new development are the 'dry' water mist fire extinguishers, which can be used on class A, B, C and F fires and are very easy to use. These dry water mist extinguishers can be installed in buildings, where an effective training of all residents/staff in traditional extinguisher application is not feasible, such as HMOs etc.

Foam fire extinguishers

Foam fire extinguishers are used on burning solids (Class A) and liquid fires (Class B), such as burning petrol. They are excellent in general office or home environments. The foam penetrates burning fabrics and solids and forms a cooling blanket of top of the fire. Foam extinguishers are widely used in office environments, as they offer a reasonably wide cover without the clean-up problem of a powder fire extinguisher.

Wet chemical fire extinguishers

Wet chemical fire extinguishers and a los ABF foam extinguishers are used for fat fires and deep fat fryer fires. The chemical of the wet chemical bonds with the burning fat and stops the supply of oxygen to the fat. It also cools down the fat. Wet Chemical fire extinguishers are used in professional kitchens, while ABF extinguishers can be used in domestic kitchens.

Fire risks are categorised into classes. Fire extinguishers are then rated in their ability to fight these different classes of fires. Their fire fighting capability is thus indicated by letters for fire classes and a number which stands for the strength of the extinguisher in fighting this class. The higher the number, the more powerful the extinguisher is.

Fire Classes:

Class A Fires: Solid combustibles, such as wood, paper, textiles

Class B Fires: Flammable liquids, such as petrol, diesel and paraffin

Class C Fires: Flammable gases, such as LPG and natural gas

Class D Fires: Flammable metals, such as magnesium swarf

Class F Fires: Cooking fats, such as deep fat fryers oils

The basic requirement for fire extinguishers (Class A fire risks) of a building is calculated by multiplying the area of a building’s floor space in square metres by 0.065. For example, if a single floor building is 20m x 10m you would have a floor area of 200 square metres. Multiply this by 0.065 and you arrive at the number 13. You now know that the fire extinguisher provision has to be 13A or higher. However, the actual minimum Class A provision for any building is 26A (unless the building has only one single occupant with a possible single upper floor area no larger than 100 square metres, in which case the minimum is 13A). Once you have determined what rating you require you can select your extinguishers. If you are required to provide eg 26A, you would have to pick extinguishers with a total Class A rating of 26A or larger. Extinguisher’s ratings are advertised with the extinguishers and vary from brand to brand.
Example: if your building is 600 square metres your minimum requirement for Class A fire extinguishers would be 39A (600 multiplied with 0.065 = 39). This could for example be covered by two 6ltr water fire extinguishers (with additives) with 21A rating each.

On top of this you would need to account for any specific risks that your building contains by considering a few questions (risk assessment):

1) Is there an area of your building that is used to store flammable liquids (for this you would need a Class B rated extinguisher to cover the risk)? A building which contains for example 50 ltrs of flammable liquid (eg Diesel), would require a Class B rating of more than 50B. You could in such a case consider foam fire extinguishers instead of the above mentioned water extinguishers, as foam extinguishers cover both Class A and Class B risks. For example 2x 6l foam extinguishers might give you a total rating of 42A and 288B (depends from the make of the extinguisher).

2) Where is the mains power distribution board located (for this you may want to include a CO2 extinguisher or a powder extinguisher)?

3) Does the building have a kitchen area and if so what appliances are located there (for electrical appliances you may want to include a CO2 extinguisher and if you have a deep fat fryer you might want to consider a Class F wet chemical extinguisher or a dry water mist extinguisher)?

There are many other aspects of fire safety that need to be considered when provisioning for fire extinguishers: Extinguishers located on the same floor should all have a similar method of operation and should be of a similar design and standard. Therefore, EN3 extinguishers, which are red with a colour bar indicating the type of extinguisher, should not be mixed with older BS5423 extinguishers, where the whole body is coloured to indicate the type of extinguisher).
Extinguishers located on different floors should be located in a similar place to make it easier to locate them in an emergency.
The user should not have to travel more than 30m to the nearest suitable fire extinguisher.
Extinguishers should be located on escape routes, near to room exits, next to final exits, in corridors etc.

The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 states that a person in control of a building must carry out a fire risk assessment, part of which is the provisioning of fire fighting equipment. The person in control of the building might want to outsource this to a trained individual who can perform the risk assessment and indicate the correct provisioning for the building.
Safelincs is happy to carry out extinguisher site surveys which are free of charge if you order the required fire extinguishers from us.