By Tom Kiurski
Every once in a while, firefighters need a training day that is a little less strenuous and coupled with some relaxed fun to keep the training days exciting. This training day features fire extinguishers, a burn barrel, and a review of everything about fire extinguishers.
This training session started at the drill ground, and, after a brief introduction, continued with a review of the classes of fire. Since this topic is covered regularly, firefighters easily remembered Class A (ordinary combustibles), B (flammable liquids) and C (live electrical equipment) fires. Fewer firefighters remembered Class D (combustible metals) fires, however. Offering numerous examples of each type of fire, we then discussed the new kid on the block, the Class K (cooking oils) fires. A few members admittedly haven’t yet been exposed to Class K fire, so this review proved worthwhile.
We reviewed all the different types of extinguishing agents that today’s fire extinguishers may contain, the classes of fire on which they are effective and their numerical ratings (when applicable in Class A and B type fire extinguishers). We discussed where you might find the different types of fire extinguishers in homes and businesses. Finally, we addressed maintenance issues so that each member would be fresh and ready to start our annual fire extinguisher inspection, which would be performed on all city-owned fire extinguishers later that month.
Discussing the importance of fire extinguishers in any family’s home fire safety package, we suggested that each member inspect his family’s fire extinguishers, and replace any as needed with an A-B-C-rated fire extinguisher. Firefighters should also pass this advice on to any citizens who ask what type of fire extinguisher they should purchase for their homes.
(1) A barrel containing a small amount of flammable liquid goes a long way in providing some hands-on fire extinguisher training for your firefighters.
A chart we showed illustrated the different markings on fire extinguishers to denote the classes of fire that the extinguishers are safe to use on. Reviewing proper fire extinguisher operation, we used the PASS acronym:
- Pull the lockpin;
- Aim the nozzle at the base of the flames and at the front edge closest to you;
- Squeeze the top handle down when within the device’s operating range, pushing the valve down and allowing the extinguishing agent to flow, and once the front edge of the fire is controlled;
- Sweep from side to side from the front edge to the back until the fire is out.
We then geared up for some fun and hands-on training with fire extinguishers. All members got a chance to use a water-pressure, a carbon dioxide (CO2), and a dry chemical extinguisher on a flammable liquid fire to observe how the fire reacts to different extinguishing agents. The fires weren’t large or dramatic, just large enough for students to discover the right way to use portable fire extinguishers on small flammable liquid fires. Those fire extinguisher skills are useful with any type of fire that members would have to fight using extinguishers (photos 1, 2).
This training day was fairly easy to set up and run. The class lasted less than an hour, an easy training day for the firefighters. If you ask me, I think the day was a pretty fun one that covers some basic stuff. It isn’t every day that we handle fire extinguishers, so refreshing that skill is a good thing to do. 
(2) Although not the most challenging scenario firefighters may face, it is informative, fun, and builds confidence.
Tom Kiurski is training coordinator, a paramedic, and the director of fire safety education for Livonia (MI) Fire & Rescue. His book, Creating a Fire-Safe Community: A Guide for Fire Safety Educators (Fire Engineering, 1999), is a guide for bringing the safety message to all segments of the community efficiently and economically.
