Classification of Fire and Ways of Extinguishing Fire

Do you know thousands of people die due to fire accidents every year? In fact, fire is one of the biggest causes of accidental deaths. This is why learning fire safety becomes extremely important. The good thing is, there are many fire safety courses and diplomas like Advanced Diploma in Industrial Safety, that you can pursue to enhance your knowledge in the field.

But before talking about the fire and safety courses, let’s discuss the classification of fire along with the best ways of extinguishing a fire. Let’s begin!

Classification of Fire

Fire is classified into four main classes – Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D.

Class A: This class includes all the common solid combustible things such as wood, cloth, paper, plastics, etc.

Class B: It includes flammable liquids that are usually extinguished by smothering. For example oil, grease, gasoline, alcohol, etc.

Class C: This category of fire includes electrical appliances, wiring and other equipment.

Class D: The last class of fire includes some specific flammable metallic substances like potassium and sodium. Usually, these substances are not found in most Medical Centres.

So, this was about the classification of fire. Now, what about the ways of extinguishing fire? How different types of fires can be extinguished, let’s find out!

Best Ways of Extinguishing Fire

Given below are the three main ways of putting out a fire:

1. Cooling

One of the best ways to put off the fire effectively is to remove the heat that is generated. This is why cooling is a popular fire extinguishing method. In this method, the entire heat generated by the fire is absorbed by water. This extinguishing method remains effective till the water cannot absorb any more heat.

However, note that this water should never be used in fires that involve flammable liquids like oil, gasoline, grease, and electricity.

2. Starving

Starving the fire from the fuel that ignited it is another effective fire extinguishing approach. The logic behind this method is simple, when fire runs out of its fueling materials, it will cool down itself. For example, if you don’t supply any more wood or dry grass in the bonfire, it will eventually burn out itself. Similarly, if the gas supply is cut during a fire caused by gas, it will extinguish readily.

3. Smothering

Smothering is the third and most effective fire extinguishing method that involves oxygen, the last element of the fire triangle. It is a fire extinguishing approach that involves removing oxygen. For example, when you cover a burning candle with glass, it blows out due to lack of oxygen.

Note that this approach is mostly used for solid fuel fires.

So, these are the most effective fire extinguishing methods. If you want to know more about fire safety and fire extinguishing, visit our website and discover our wide range of fire and safety courses in Karad. By pursuing our courses, you can get better opportunities in the field of fire and safety.