Fire Fighting Equipment

What Does Fire Fighting Equipment Mean?

Fire fighting equipment includes items used to extinguish fires (such as fire hoses, fire hose reels, firefighting nozzles, and fire buckets), as well as the gear protect those extinguishing the fire from being harmed by it (such as flame-resistant clothing, respirators, and fire helmets).

Safeopedia Explains Fire Fighting Equipment

An uncontrolled fire is always an emergency and must be dealt with properly to prevent injury, loss of life, or damage to property.

A fire will continue to burn as long as heat, fuel, and oxygen are present. Fire fighting equipment offers many ways of removing one of these components and thereby extinguishing the fire. Depending on the type of fire and the nature of the incident, liquids, powders, gasses, or foam concentrates might be the most suitable option for snuffing a blaze.

While some fire fighting equipment is designed for use by trained fire fighters, many are meant to be used by anyone who finds themselves in proximity of a fire.

Types of Fire Fighting Equipment

The most common types of fire fighting equipment include:

• Fire extinguishers, which can be filled with water, dry chemical powder, foam, carbon dioxide, or other substances.
• Fire hoses, which are usually wound on a reel and can be unrolled quickly for use. Fire hoses are capable of delivering a powerful stream of water, which makes them useful for fires that are too big to be managed with fire extinguishers
• Fire buckets, which are made of metal or plastic and filled with sand, water, or powder. The contents of the bucket are dumped onto a fire and repeated until the flame is extinguished.
• Fire fighter's protective gear, including a fire-resistant outer suit, inner lining suit, inner and outer gloves, woolen socks, fire-resistant shoes, helmet, communication system, and breathing apparatus.
• Installed fire fighting systems consisting of a main water supply network, hydrant, sprinkler (automatic or manual), emergency fuel and electric cut-off system, portable generators, and portable pumps.
• Communication equipment, such as walkie-talkies, radios, landline telephones, sound-powered telephones, mobile phones, and voice pipes.
• Fire detection and alarm systems, including smoke detectors and automatic fire alarms.

The Most Common Fire Fighting Equipment

The most common fire fighting equipment is the fire extinguisher. It is found in every commercial or public establishment and most people know how to use it even without any formal training. That being said, it is advisable to become familiar with the instructions on how to use a fire extinguisher so it can be used immediately in case of a fire.

Most extinguishers operate using the PASS technique:

• P – Pull the pin on the fire extinguisher in order to break the tamper seal
• A – Aim the fire extinguisher low, with the nozzle pointed at the base of the fire
• S – Squeeze the handle of the fire extinguisher to release the extinguishing agent
• S – Sweep the nozzle from side to side while pointing at the base of the fire until it is extinguished

If the fire reignites, repeat the last three steps.