When To Use An Extinguisher To Prevent Fire Damage To Your Alpharetta Home

9/15/2017 (Permalink)

A fire extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives.

Do You Have A Fire Extinguisher In Your Home?

A home fire is a frightening experience for any resident of Alpharetta. However, there are some cases where it is safe to use a fire extinguisher against a home fire, and doing so might prevent fire damage to your home or stop the flames from spreading further.

SERVPRO would like to remind readers of the US Fire Safety Administration’s advice about the use of fire extinguishers to prevent fire damage to Alpharetta homes.

It is certainly a wise idea to keep a fire extinguisher in your home. Commercially available devices such as those you can buy at your local hardware store usually fall into one of three categories:

A – for use with ordinary materials such as cloth, wood, and paper.
B – for use with combustible and flammable liquids such as grease, gasoline, oil and oil-based paints.
C – for use with electrical equipment such as appliances or power tools.

Although there are category D and K devices available, these are generally for commercial purposes.

The important thing to remember when fighting a blaze in your own house is to stay safe and do not tackle a fire that is bigger than you can handle, or larger than your home fire extinguisher can safely tackle.

Before attempting to fight a blaze in your home, it is important to alert everyone else in the house that there is a fire. Shout or do anything else you must to get their attention and ensure they have exited safely. SERVPRO suggests them to call the fire department immediately.

Do not try to be brave or tackle a fire that is going out of control or spreading. Your safety is the most important thing. If you cannot extinguish the fire without putting yourself in danger, simply get out as fast as you can and let the fire department handle it. However, if a fire is small and contained in a specific area such as a pan or a wastepaper basket, it might be safe to tackle it yourself.

Only use a fire extinguisher if you are confident you have a clear escape route and that the flames are not blocking and not in danger of blocking that route.

In the event of a home fire, call SERVPRO as soon as you can. Our IICRC-certified technicians are on hand to scrub and clean soot-damaged surfaces and deodorize your home so that it is livable once more.

Locally Owned Company with National Resources

For help with fire problems in Roswell, Crabapple, Milton, Ocee and surrounding areas, call SERVPRO of North Fulton County at (770) 992-2777 today.

For more information regarding the city of Alpharetta, click here.