Dealing with the fire extinguisher correctly
As part of the district fire department’s fire safety education program, a four-day course on the proper handling of hand-held fire extinguishers was held at the lichtenfels secondary school. The infomobil "handfeuerloscher" came to the scene of the state firefighters’ association and the bavarian chamber of insurance after lichtenfels.
Practice in the foreground
The fire department wanted to point out the correct behavior in case of danger by a targeted fire protection education and clarification, starting from the kindergarten over the schools up to the adults. Thomas walther of the state firefighters’ association led the campaign "really put out the fire" with the help of district fire chief sigrid mager through. Beside the theory naturally the practice stood in the foreground.
He skilfully involved his listeners in the proceedings by asking questions. First, it explained the different fire classes: A (solid fires), B (liquid fires), C (gas fires), D (metal fires), F (grease fires), and then presented the common extinguishing agents (water, carbon dioxide, foam, powder, extinguishing blanket) that are possible for the specific case.
Proper handling of the fire extinguisher also needs to be learned. When fighting fires, the fire extinguisher is to be held vertically and only to be operated in the direction of the wind in a stubby manner. In order to be able to act correctly in the first instance, both the students and the teachers had the opportunity to take a fire extinguisher in hand to extinguish a fire caused by a fire simulation system. In case of emergency, the protection of one’s own life should have top priority. However, one must not panic, one should rather act prudently. Used fire extinguishers must be refilled before they are returned to their place of use.
Spray cans can explode
Thomas walther also drew attention to the danger of a spray can, which can explode when overheated by strong sunlight. He demonstrated this by exposing a spray can secured in a metal cage to a source of fire until the can burst with a loud bang and the high-calorific propellant butane/propane it contained burned in a jet of flame.
You always have to make sure you are using the right solvent. Walther thus showed in a drastic way how devastating an attempt to extinguish an oil fire with water can be. Protected by fireproof clothing, he poured only a quarter of a liter of water into a pot of burning oil in an experimental kitchen with a fork attached to a handle, forming a huge jet of flame.