It’s easy to use a 24-Hour fire extinguisher. Much like your ordinary powder fire extinguisher with a hose and lever, it also has a capability to activate itself if no-one is around, making it ideal for premises where the risk of fire is high even when unoccupied.
In order for this function to work, it combines the manual activation of a normal fire extinguisher with the temperature-release valves found on an automatic fire extinguisher.
Filled with a multi-purpose extinguishant, it is safe to use on Class A, B and C fires. While safe to use on an electrical fire, a dry powder fire extinguisher main domain is flammable liquids and gases.
Still featuring a pressure gauge and safety pin, carry out your usual checks before using the fire extinguisher. And most importantly, ensure you can still safely exit if your attempts to put out a fire are unsuccessful.
How To Manually Use A 24-Hour Fire Extinguisher
- With the powder extinguisher on the ground a safe distance from the fire, remove the safety pin and break the tamper seal.
- Aim the hose at the base of the fire with one hand. Don’t aim for the flames, but the base instead, moving the jet across the area of the fire to smother it of oxygen.
- Holding the lever in the other hand, you then start to slowly squeeze it to discharge the powder. As the fire starts to die down, you can then start to move closer.
- Using the entire contents of the powder fire extinguisher, make sure the fire is fully extinguished to cool down the area and prevent it from re-igniting.
- Should the fire not begin to ease, and you still have powder in your fire extinguisher, the canister can be thrown at or placed near the flames. This will then automatically activate the fire extinguisher while you make your exit.
How The 24-Hour Fire Extinguisher Automatically Activates
- Whether you’ve already tried to manually fight the flames or the premises is unoccupied, when the temperature increases to around 68°C as the fire increases in proximity, the extinguisher is triggered without intervention, much like a suppression system.
- With a sensor and valve on each side of the fire extinguisher head, the powder will then be released from one or both of the nozzles, depending on the location of the flames.
- The extinguisher will then completely discharge the entire contents, hopefully, to completely extinguish the fire and cool the area to prevent re-ignition.
