What Does
Class A Fire Mean?
A class A fire refers to a fire that involves solid combustibles such as wood, coal, paper, plastic, straw, cloth, rubber or any other solid material. These solid substances are mainly of organic origin and contain carbon and its compounds.
Safeopedia Explains Class A Fire
Irrespective of the causes of ignition, a class A fire burns solid fuel. It can be extinguished either by water, foam or multi-purpose dry chemical powder. However, for complete extinguishment, class A fires should be entirely cooled down below the ignition temperature of the burning substance. Embers produced in such kind of fire are reignited if they are left above the ignition temperature and come in contact with oxygen. Smothering (or choking) a class A fire does not completely extinguish the fire because it cannot reduce the temperature of the embers. Therefore, CO2 (Carbon dioxide) and ordinary dry chemical powders are not effective against a class A fire.