Fire Extinguisher, Fire Safety, and Fire Gear

Welcome to RedlandsFirefighters.org. We are a site dedicated to bringing you the latest in fire fighting and fire fighting safety and prevention. Everything from Fire Extinguishers to Fire proof gun safes is covered here so make sure to refer back to this site often for the latest information on everything Fire Fighting related. RedlandsFireFighters.org is a purely informational website and we do not promote any one particular product or method.

Firefighting is defined as the act of extinguishing destructive fires. Now let us think about that statement for a moment. Firefighting can happen in an instance and if one is not prepared the repercussions could be disastrous. If you cannot use a fire extinguisher to put it out quickly, you better call the fire department as quick as possible.

A firefighter fights these fires to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical profession which requires years of training at a Fire Academy and education in order to become proficient.

A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user situations like no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.

There are two main types of fire extinguishers: Stored pressure and generated pressure. In stored pressure units, the expellant is stored in the same chamber as the firefighting agent itself. Depending on the agent used, different propellants are used. With dry chemical extinguishers, nitrogen is typically used; water and foam are pressurized with air. Stored pressure is the most common type of fire extinguishers.

Cartridge-operated extinguishers contain the expellant gas in a separate cartridge that is punctured prior to discharge, exposing the propellant to the agent. These types are not as common, used primarily in areas such as industrial facilities, where they receive higher-than-average use. They have the advantage of simple and prompt recharge, allowing an operator to discharge the extinguisher, recharge it, and return to the fire in a reasonable amount of time. Unlike stored pressure types, these extinguishers utilize compressed carbon dioxide instead of nitrogen, although nitrogen cartridges are used on low temperature models.

Firefighters' goals are to save life, property and the environment. A fire can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe is usually, but not always, avoided. To prevent fires from starting a firefighter's duties include public education and conducting fire inspections.

The primary risk to people in a fire is smoke inhalation (breathing in smoke; most of those killed in fires die from this, not from burns). The risks of smoke include things like suffocation due to the fire consuming or displacing all the oxygen from the air, poisonous gases produced by the fire, aspirating heated smoke that can burn the inside of the lungs.

Obvious risks stem from the effects of heat. Even without contact with the flames, there are a number of comparably serious risks: burns from radiated heat, contact with a hot object, hot gases, steam and hot and/or toxic smoke. Firefighters are equipped with personal protective equipment that includes fire-resistant clothing and helmets that limit the transmission of heat towards the body.

Heat causes human flesh to burn as fuel causing severe medical problems. Depending upon the heat of the fire, burns can occur in a fraction of a second. A first degree burn (on the skin surface) is extremely painful. A second degree burn is a burn into the skin, and can cause shock, infections, and dehydration and if left untreated often results in death. Second degree burns compromise nerve tissue and are not painful. Third degree burns leave muscles and internal organs exposed from completely destroyed skin. If the person survives the shock and exposure to germs, medical treatment is extremely difficult.
Make sure you refer back to RedlandsFirefighters.org often to stay up to date and current on everything three is in the world fire fighting.

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