Fire Fighting Training: How to Stop and Prevent Smaller Household Fires

Fires, no matter the shape or size, should always be taken seriously. A lack of understanding, preparation as well as guidance when it comes to controlling a fire can see the damage and loss of practically anything that it can come into contact with. This is why we at EMCARE have made it our mission to teach and provide as many people with fire fighting training as possible, giving them the ability to tackle any fires that are avoidable and easy to manage, especially if you are not in possession of the tools and clothing that can be seen on professionally trained fire fighters. Within just a few minutes of reading through this quick article, you can start on your journey towards keeping your friends and family protected, when things get heated, through the many different EMCARE fire fighting training courses.

How You Can Identify and Extinguish the Different Types of Fires

One thing that we at EMCARE prefer to make abundantly clear throughout the course of any of our fire fighting training periods is that fires can be incredibly dangerous to be around, whether they are being controlled or not. In any situation, a controlled fire can quickly start wreaking havoc which can lead to injury and death of far too many while still severely damaging and scorching the nearby environment. In many cases where this has previously happened, it is often due those who were involved that were unaware of how to properly kill a flame in a safe and correct manner.

For many of those who have not taken part in a fire fighting training course, or are unaware of fire safety, their first reaction to seeing a raging fire is to immediately douse it in as much water as possible. While this method can be incredibly effect in a number of scenarios, doing so can actually cause far more harm in others, making the fire worse in the process. This is entirely dependent on the size of the fire, the source as well as the location of the fire too, among many other variables and possibilities to keep in mind too. Often times people are really only made aware of such vitally important pieces of information when taking part in a fire fighting training course, which is something we at EMCARE are hoping to change through this article, among the many others that are made available on our website at no cost to you at all.

In most situations, the best way to start controlling and killing your fire is to become fully aware and sure of what kind of fire it is that you are dealing with. This is where you will come in to contact with one, or hopefully not more, of the following types of fires, which are often referred to differently depending on where you look. For the sake of convenience and understanding, each type of fire will be listed as follows:

• Class A Fires - Solids
• Class B Fires - Liquids and Gases
• Class C Fires - Electrical Machines and Equipment
• Class D Fires - Combustible Metals
• Class E Fires - Fats and Cooking Oils

As each of these classes of fires are started in entirely different contexts, burning off of entirely different materials, and in their own environments too, it is important that you are made aware of how to stay safe when and if you are in a position to handle such situations on a smaller scale, even if you have only been to a handful of beginner fire fighting training courses.

Class A Fires - Solids

One of the first things that you are taught in EMCARE's fire fighting training course is that there are plenty of solid items that have the capacity to catch a light with ease, leading to the spread of even the smallest of household fires to become a much bigger tragedy. Solid items that are capable of such damage would range from wood and plastic all the way to cloth and rubber. Specific items that you should look out for before or during a fire should include:

• Wooden furniture like couches and cupboards
• Large collections of paper, such as bookcases and photo albums
• Plastic objects such as Tupperware containers and bottles
• Any form of fabric such as clothing, bedsheets, table cloths, etc.
• Rubber objects such as car tyres, shoes as well as certain types of dumbbells too

Fires that contain and are started by solid objects such as the ones listed above and are the most common, are also thankfully easier to extinguish when the moment calls for it. Some of the most effects ways of extinguishing a household fire would be through the use of water from a garden hose or by filling buckets up at the nearest tap and using fire blankets to smother and remove oxygen from the fire. Authorities have become vocal in asking their local communities, as well as the individual families within, to equip themselves with Class A extinguishers, as they are filled with dry chemicals that can make quick work of any raging household fire.

Class B Fires - Liquids and Gasses

Another important piece of information that we teach in our fire fighting training course is that flammable liquids and gasses behave very differently to flammable solids when caught a light. These substances can often be found in household garages and workshops. In fewer instances, these objects can also be found in and around your home too. Everyday gasses that carry the risk of spreading a fire would include:

• Methane - most homes around the world that use natural gas for heating purposes are often achieved through the use of methane, and is also often used for cooking and for hot water systems too.
• Butane - This particular gas is most likely to be found within any cigarette lighter, but may also be used inside your fridge and freezers, making up a large part of the cooling systems used to keep things cold.
• Hydrogen - While this gas may primarily be used as a source of fuel for many transport systems using busses, hydrogen is also used to help party balloons float too.

Flammable liquids that are used in our everyday life also includes:

• Alcohol - this would range from almost any beverage containing a high enough percentage of alcohol, as well as deep cleaning and medical kits too.
• Oils - A large majority of oils are very easily flammable, including the oils used on car, bike and chainsaw chains too.
• Paints - while still mixed with a variety of other components, a large portion of paints containing oil are still highly flammable.
• Gasoline - Any form of petrol that you use to fill your car up is grouped into this category too, including diesel and unleaded too.

In cases where flammable liquids are involved, it is crucial that you avoid using water to extinguish the flames as this would only serve to spread the fire to an excessive degree. It should also be noted that some flammable liquids can still float on water, meaning that oxygen would not be removed from the fire to help kill it. As previously mentioned in the Class A group of Fires, your ordinary household fire extinguisher would prove to be more than useful. Alongside this, another way to stop fires that are started by liquids and gasses would be through the use of foam.

Class C Fires - Electrical Machines and Equipment

Throughout the world, fires that are started by any form of electrical equipment are incredibly common. This is because these machines, often placed in confined environments with little airflow, warm up over the extended periods of time that they are being used. Machines that are more likely to contribute towards household fires include:

• Space Heaters - During the colder seasons, any form of heater that is left on for extended periods of time, especially when placed near dry fabrics like clothes, bed sheets and curtains can run the risk of a fire breaking out.
• Chords and Wires - When wires are installed or hidden from view poorly, like behind desks and TV cabinets etc., any potentially resulting sparks can easily cause fires to erupts. Similarly, overloaded plug points and power banks can also lead to power surges and short circuits.
• Clothes Dryers - If not maintained in the correct manner, these machines can cause fires due to the build of lint. This acts as a small tinder that quickly catches a light from any sparks that may occur.

In order to extinguish fires that are caused by electrical equipment, our fire fighting training courses place great emphasis on the fact that water should not even be considered until after the source of the electricity as been removed or turned off, which can be done quickly by turning off the main power of the building in question. Until that point however, your standard household fire extinguisher can be just as useful.

Class D Fires - Combustible Metals

Thankfully, there are very few metals within the average household that are capable of causing fires. In any case however, these metals often need high temperatures in order for them to burn due to their incredibly high flash points. Metals that are most likely to be the source of a fire would consist of:

• Lithium - Lithium batteries are commonly found across cameras, smart phones and even laptops too.
• Sodium - When exposed to air or even water, combustion is likely possible due to this metal being highly reactive.

These fires are not too common in households thankfully, as the resources needed in order to start the fire are mostly found within industrial settings. It is because of this that fire control districts rarely mandate the extinguishers needed in order to control these fires to the average household. This is why it is important to rather call your local fire department for help rather than turning towards normal fire extinguishers and water, as this would only exacerbate the situation.

Class K Fires - Fats and Cooking Oils

While some chefs do like a little fire in their kitchen, an excessive amount can become unwieldy for even the most experienced of chefs. These fires are usually started by:

• Cooking Oils - This includes canola oil, vegetable oil and even butter too.
• Cooking Grease - This can often collect behind and around various cooking appliances, and should be cleaned regularly due to the risk it poses towards fire safety.

In order to suppress any cooking related fires, misty water can act as an effective suppressant. Foam used within specific fire extinguishers can be just as useful too while fire suppression blankets can also be used if the fire in question is small enough.

Get Started with EMCARE's Fire Fighting Training Courses Today!

To get to grips with all fire safety tips and tricks, ranging from beginner classes all the way up to professional and career focused classes too, you simply cannot go wrong with EMCARE's fire fighting training course. Get started today with the help of our trained and qualified teachers through our easily accessible classes and low prices. Choose EMCARE today!