Fire Extinguisher facts

While investigating facts about Fire Extinguisher Types and Fire Extinguisher Classes, I found out little known, but curios details like:

About Greek Fire. An incendiary weapon developed by the Byzantines in the 7th century, it was deployed on ships, and in handheld tubes, operating similar to a flamethrower. Water didn’t extinguish it. Its precise chemical composition is still unknown.

how fire extinguisher works?

The first ever photocopier, the Xerox 914, caught fire so frequently that a “scorch eliminator”, asmall fire extinguisher, was provided with the copier.

What fire extinguisher to use?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what fire extinguisher for home. Here are 50 of the best facts about Fire Extinguisher Service and Fire Extinguisher Inspection I managed to collect.

what fire extinguisher for electrical fire?

Len Koenecke, a pro baseball player who got drunk on a flight and picked a fight with the pilot. The pilot bashed him over the head with a fire extinguisher killing him.
To extinguish the Kuwait oil fires, Hungarian firefighting crews attached 2 MiG engines to a T-34 tank to pump seawater onto the blaze
Two George Mason University engineering students developed a way to extinguish fires using sound.
In London from 1682 one could buy fire insurance: you attached a metal plate to their building ensuring that if there were a fire their insurance company would fight to extinguish it. If the building wasn’t insured the fire wasn’t put out unless it threatened to spread to an insured building.
Dry powder fire extinguishers can cause diarrhea when the powder comes in contact with your skin
The Hungarians use a pair of jet engines mounted on a tank to extinguish oil fires
I learned firefighters would use dynamite to extinguish fires. Dynamite thrown directly into the flame causes all the oxygen to ignite instantaneously, therefore starving the fire so it goes out.
A fire extinguisher factory in Chicago was left burning for hours since firefighters couldn't find water.
Two engineering students developed a way to extinguish fires using sound waves.
Xerox’s first office copy machine caught on fire so often it came with a fire extinguisher

fire extinguisher facts — What fire extinguisher for kitchen?

Why fire extinguisher is used?

You can easily fact check why fire extinguisher use carbon dioxide by examining the linked well-known sources.

Some airport firetrucks have a reinforced spray nozzle (or “snozzle”) that is designed to pierce an airplane’s fuselage and then extinguish a fire from inside the cabin or cargo area.

Cow hooves are used to make the foam in fire extinguishers. - source

There are many fire extinguishers at Tiananmen Square to help stop protestors from setting themselves on fire (self-immolation).

In 1966 the Soviet Union used a nuclear weapon to extinguish an out of control natural gas well fire.

To extinguish the oil well fires during the Gulf War, firefighters used dynamite and TNT to stop the blaze. The fire from the explosion consumed enough oxygen to suffocate the well fire. - source

When fire extinguisher is expired?

Fires in Tesla batteries are so difficult to extinguish that firefighters are advised to let the fires burn out if possible - which may take up to 24 hours.

How fire extinguishers are made?

The reason water extinguishes a fire is that it removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it. Similarly, blowing hard on a flame will displace the heat of the currently burning gas from its fuel source.

A fire that started in one of the trains in the tunnels on November 18, 1996 did a lot of damage to both the tunnel and the train before it was extinguished. The passengers were all rescued.

Typical fire extinguishers are ineffective on sodium fires and can actually increase the emergency.

The Soviets once used a 30 kiloton nuclear bomb to extinguish a gas pipeline fire

James Allen Ward VC. The WW2 airman who earned the Victoria Cross after he crawled out over his aircraft's wing (while still flying) to extinguish a fire after being hit by anti-aircraft cannons.

When fire extinguisher inspection?

In 1814, as British invaders attempted to burn Washington D.C. to the ground, a terrific storm descended upon the city that extinguished the fires and killed more of the Crown's fighting force than the American defenders did.

The last fires at the World Trade Center site were extinguished exactly 100 days after the attacks

Most of the silent films have been wiped out in film vault fires. Due to the usage of nitrate film they were impossible to extinguish.

Roy Sullivan, a man who was struck by lightning seven times in his life. After the fourth time he began to carry a can of water with him in case his hair was set on fire. The next three times he was struck his hair caught fire and he used the can of water to extinguish the flames.

The "Storm that saved Washington", a heavy thunderstorm that occurred less than a day after British troops set fire to several public buildings in the capital, the storm extinguished all the fires and drove the British troops away while badly damaging their ships.

How fire extinguisher is used?

Richard Simmons was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman. They had a falling out after Simmons (while dressed as a turkey) was sprayed in the face by Letterman with a fire extinguisher after Simmons grabbed Letterman as if to hug or kiss him, causing a severe asthma attack.

Confederate troops set fire to Richmond, the Confederate capital, as they retreated from the city. The flames were extinguished by black Union troops under the command of a German immigrant.

In WW2, a Great Dane named Juliana was awarded the British Medal of the Blue Cross twice. The 1st was for extinguishing a German incendiary bomb by urinating on it, the 2nd for saving her owners from being trapped in a house fire.

In August 2013 after crashing her car, a woman was saved when passers by flagged down a truck to ask if he had a fire extinguisher. He installed them for a living & the back of his truck was filled with fire extinguishers.

A fire in 2008 scorched approximately one-third of Angel Island. When the fire was extinguished, 380 of the 740 acres had been burned.

The last fires at Ground Zero initiated by the attacked on 09/11/01 were not officially declared extinguished until December 19th, 2001, almost 100 days later.

Thanks to foaming properties of this plant, root of licorice is used in the manufacture of foam for the fire extinguishers.

On trucks & tankers with "UN" hazard plates: the first number tells you how to extinguish what's inside if it goes on fire; the next letter tells you how to clean it up; and the numbers afterward tell you what's inside.

There are "anti-grenades" or throwable fire extinguishers developed in Japan by the Japanese.

The Soviet Union once used a small nuclear bomb to extinguish a natural gas fire.

1977: Tom Pryce, F1 driver, was killed instantly when struck on the head by a fire extinguisher when his car hit and killed a marshal. The body of the marshal was so unrecognizable, they had to do a row call to find out who was missing. Here is the video of the moment./NSFL

The devastating Fort McMurray, Canada fires in 2016 were only extinguished in August 2017 after 1 year & 3 months

There are 5 classes of fire (A, B, C, D, and K) and most fire extinguishers only work on the first 3 classes.

Fires caused by combustible metals can NOT be extinguished using water or most other firefighting agents. Trying to do this will cause the fire to become worse. Instead, the National Fire Protection Association recommends using dry powders, such as sodium chloride granules.

That, citing Soviet use of nuclear explosions to extinguish gas well fires, the United States considered nuking the Deepwater Horizon during the 2010 oil spill

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