Learning how to put out fires in the workplace

To address this dilemma, Kistler O’Brien Fire Protection of Bethlehem hosted an open house Wednesday afternoon to offer hands-on fire extinguisher and safety training.

Participants got the chance to learn about the different types of extinguishers and practice putting out a live fire during demonstrations in the parking lot of the company’s facility.

One of the surprising things many people didn’t know was that not every extinguisher is equipped to handle every fire. In fact, there’s a vast array of extinguishers used for different types of fires.

Through a classroom training session led by Damian Ferguson and Mike Mesco, fire trainers at Kistler O’Brien, participants learned how to determine the right one to use by looking at the images on the label of the extinguisher.

As an example, there are wet chemical extinguishers and carbon dioxide extinguishers, which are different from dry chemical devices.

“Really look at your extinguishers, know what you have in your building and get comfortable using them,” Ferguson said.

Even the typical-looking red extinguishers are not all used for the same type of fire, Mesco said.

Different areas of the workplace also call for different types of extinguishers.

Clean-agent extinguishers are good for server rooms and spaces with a lot of computer equipment, Mesco said. And wet chemical extinguishers are used inside commercial kitchens.

Ferguson and Mesco also reviewed proper safety procedures such as monthly checks to make sure extinguishers are in the proper location, have no hose obstruction and are not damaged.

A description of fire extinguisher components and the proper procedure for operating them helped participants determine what they should do in the case of a fire.

Since a fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, it’s important to maintain a proper distance and sweep the hose at the base of the fire from side to side for full coverage and immediately evacuate, Mesco said.

The open house and safety training/demonstration was a first for the company, which is looking to do more, said Randy Bergstresser of Kistler O’Brien.

“We wanted to get people to get more comfortable, basically to raise awareness; safety is everybody’s job,” Bergstresser said.