Water Fire Extinguisher

Water Fire Extinguisher Picture

The effectiveness of Water Fire Extinguisher is primarily associated with its ability to extract heat from a fire as it vaporizes. Water is generally effective only on class A fires, but in circumstances, water can also be used to extinguish class B liquid fires. Some example of the effectiveness used Water Fire Extinguisher are denoted below:

1. When water is immiscible with the burning liquid and floats upon its surface, water extinguishes the fire by absorbing heat and preventing the escape of vapor from the liquid.
2. Water is effective as a fire extinguisher when it act as a diluent. If flammable liquids are soluble in water, they become nonflammable when a sufficient amount of water has been mixed with them. Water extinguishes such fires primarily by reducing the amount of available fuel for self-sustenance.

Water is often selected as a fire extinguisher because it is usually available in relatively large quantities. Yet water is not a good all-purpose fire extinguisher for the following reason:

1. The application of water to a fire often causes considerable damage, in fact, the damage resulting from the use of water frequently surpasses that caused directly by the fire.
2. Many parts of the world are cold enough for water to freeze when exposed to the environment. While antifreeze agents, like ethylene glycol, can added to keep it liquid at temperature as low as -60 degree of Fahrenheit (or -51 degree of Celcius), these water solution are frequently corrosive to metals and require special pressure mechanisms. If insufficient antifreeze and water are applied to afire, the water can evaporate to leave antifreeze to burn.
3. Water is often more dense than the liquids whose fires constitute class B fires. When applied to such fires, the water sinks below their surface, where it is incapable of absorbing heat.
4. Water ruins delicate electronic circuitry, and thus, it is recommended on many class C fires. Water containg dissolved minerals salts conduct electricity which can put firefighters at the risk of being electrocuted.
5. Water often reacts with the burning metals that constitute class D fires and can actually aid in sustaining combustion rather than extinguishing such fires.

The use of water on fires is also inefficient due to water's fluidity. Most water applied to a fire drains away from the fire scene. and into adjacent areas where it does not vaporize. The efficient of water can be markedly improved by using it as mist, spray, or fog. That are many advantage and disadvantage of Water Fire Extinguisher. Thanks for visiting our website.