Safety evo
Life saving tips
When fire ignites, we look for them, but are fire extinguishers dangerous ?
This question may not be a common one
And the answer can be very short or need some explanation
From the definition of hazard “which is anything that has the potential to cause harm of any kind”
We can get the short answer, for sure fire extinguishers can be dangerous.
Although it is a safety tool which is used to control fires, it still can be hazardous.
And there are some factors we need to consider in order to understand why are fire extinguishers dangerous.
So please read the following lines carefully.
Chemical and health hazards of fire extinguishers
Fire extinguishers themselves aren’t inherently dangerous,
But the chemicals inside can form a chemical and health hazards for the users
We discussed some of these health effects in a previous post you can visit from here.
For example, the dry chemical inside the dry chemical extinguishers can be irritant
for skin, eye and respiratory system.
Also, CO2 gas which is perfect choice for the electrical fires can cause great harm to human
When it is inhaled it can replace the respiratory oxygen and cause asphyxiation and death.
One last example is related some types of foam extinguishers.
They contain Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have many health effects.
Environmental impact of fire suppression systems
When we try to answer this question are fire extinguishers dangerous ?
We have to mention one of the most significant effects of fire suppression systems.
Hundreds of studies were initiated recently regarding the effects of these systems on the environment.
This was the reason behind many recommendations from the environmental agencies.
- For example, the use of Halon gas in fire suppression was banned in many countries.
Because of its severe depletion effect on the Ozone layer
which then posed our environment to extensive harmful cosmic rays
- Another common example is PFAS which can exist in firefighting foams
we just mentioned its health effect in the previous section.
But it can also be considered “forever chemicals”
Which cannot break down easily and can accumulate in soil causing harm for the surrounding biodiversity.
- Even using water sprinkler systems to extinguish a fire can still harm the environment.
As this water can be saturated with contaminants from the burning materials
Because of the porosity of soil, these contaminants can penetrate deep layers of the soil
and cause harmful environmental impacts.
Fire extinguisher misuse
This can happen due to improper selection of fire extinguishing media
Like using water to control a class K fire inside the kitchen
This can lead to catastrophic consequences.
For this reason, we always repeat the need to know what is inside the fire extinguisher
As this can be the first step towards the proper selection of firefighting media.
A common example is when we use CO2 suppression systems for manned control rooms.
This can be good because of the efficiency of CO2 and the low cost of it.
But remember that CO2 gas can kill those people inside the control room
if they were not able to evacuate the area before the CO2 gas release.
So, many other choices can be preferred like FM200 which allows longer chance for evacuation
Other potential hazards of fire extinguishers
- lake of training and awareness can also worsen the situation
People need to be aware about what they are using and what is the nature of fire they can face.
- Tripping is a common hazard that can cause injuries for workers.
So, the selection of accessible and safe place for the fire extinguishers is a must.
- Neglecting the wall thickness check for the fire extinguisher cylinders can cause its damage.
- Improper distribution of the fire extinguishers can make it hard or impossible to use them
And many other facts that can prove that fire extinguishers can be dangerous
The conclusion
For sure fire extinguishing systems are crucial for safety
And this post does not mean that we need to avoid using them.
The message behind this post was to prove that even safety equipment can be hazardous.
Risk assessments and follow up is always needed even for safety tools.
Reading this post can make us think about the proper selection and follow up for our safety tools.
If somebody asked you this question
are fire extinguishers dangerous ?
Tell him to read this post …..
And you can also read these related posts.
