I am not a fireman but I have been a health and safety, and fire safety officer in the work place for many years and have done a number of fire safety courses with the Fire Brigade.

I am a little worried by people talking about fire extinguishers because the fact is if you own them you are likely to use them instead of getting out of the building. Many people with extinguishers tackle fires that are just too big for the extinguisher to handle and the evidence shows that many more people that stay to fight the fire die than those that just attempt to evacuate.

A fire in the home in most cases is totally unmanageable within 60 seconds. It is not the fire that kills but the smoke and fumes. If you stick around to fight the fire you are breathing in that stuff which is slowly rendering you useless. If you use an extinguisher you are actually increasing the amount of dangerous un-burnt fumes given off by the fire.

A fire extinguisher is great to have for knocking down small fires that have just started but once they are bigger than a waste paper bin fire then it is time to get out.

It is also important to get the correct training to use the type of extinguisher you are using. In most cases you want to attack the source of the fire at its base, but if using foam you need to drop the foam from above so that it smothers the fire.

I have not seen anyone mention fire blankets or even damp tea towels as a tool to knock down fires in the kitchen. Kitchens and their appliances are relatively fire resistant by nature. It is normally fat, oil or food stuff that catches fire. Smother the fire with a fire blanket or damp tea towel is the fastest most efficient way to deal with this sort of fire and it is a damn sight less messy than discharging an extinguisher.

This is UK and European advice which is probably similar in the US. In Europe we have a colour code for each type of extinguisher.

Water Extinguishers (Red)
USE – Paper, wood, textiles and solid material fires
DON’T USE – Liquid, electrical or metal fires

Powder Extinguishers (Blue)
USE - Liquid, electrical, wood, paper & textile fires
DON’T USE - Metal fires

AFFF Foam Extinguishers (Cream)
USE - Liquid, paper, wood & textile fires
DON’T USE - Electrical or metal fires

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extinguishers (Black)
USE - Liquid & Electrical fires
DON’T USE - Metal fires