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Stuntmen: Fire Extinguishers in A Museum Storeroom, Cut To Display Their Inner Workings

The document discusses the history and development of fire extinguishers from the 1920s to the 1970s. It describes some of the key innovations and agents developed during this period, including the first CO2 extinguisher invented in 1924, the first dry chemical extinguisher in 1928, and the introduction of halon extinguishers from Europe in the 1970s. The document also provides classifications of fire extinguishers according to the types of fires they can be used on, as defined in Australian and New Zealand standards.

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51 views

Stuntmen: Fire Extinguishers in A Museum Storeroom, Cut To Display Their Inner Workings

The document discusses the history and development of fire extinguishers from the 1920s to the 1970s. It describes some of the key innovations and agents developed during this period, including the first CO2 extinguisher invented in 1924, the first dry chemical extinguisher in 1928, and the introduction of halon extinguishers from Europe in the 1970s. The document also provides classifications of fire extinguishers according to the types of fires they can be used on, as defined in Australian and New Zealand standards.

Uploaded by

waseem555
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The carbon dioxide (CO2) extinguisher was invented (at least in the US) by the Walter Kidde Company

in 1924
in response to Bell Telephone's request for an electrically non-conductive chemical for extinguishing the
previously difficult-to-extinguish fires in telephone switchboards. It consisted of a tall metal cylinder containing
7.5 pounds (3.4 kg) of CO2 with a wheel valve and a woven brass, cotton covered hose, with a composite
funnel-like horn as a nozzle.[9] CO2 is still popular today as it is an ozone-friendly clean agent and is used
heavily in film and television production to extinguish burning stuntmen.[10] Carbon dioxide extinguishes fire
mainly by displacing oxygen. It was once thought that it worked by cooling, although this effect on most fires is
negligible.
In 1928, DuGas (later bought by ANSUL) came out with a cartridge-operated dry chemical extinguisher, which
used sodium bicarbonate specially treated with chemicals to render it free-flowing and moisture-resistant.[11][12] It
consisted of a copper cylinder with an internal CO2cartridge. The operator turned a wheel valve on top to
puncture the cartridge and squeezed a lever on the valve at the end of the hose to discharge the chemical.
This was the first agent available for large-scale three-dimensional liquid and pressurized gas fires, but
remained largely a specialty type until the 1950s, when small dry chemical units were marketed for home use.
ABC dry chemical came over from Europe in the 1950s, with Super-K being invented in the early 60s and
Purple-K being developed by the US Navy in the late 1960s. Manually applied dry agents such as graphite for
class D (metal) fires had existed since WWII, but it wasn't until 1949 that Ansul introduced a pressurized
extinguisher using an external CO2 cartridge to discharge the agent. Met-L-X (sodium chloride) was the first
extinguisher developed in the US, with graphite, copper, and several other types being developed later.
In the 1940s, Germany invented the liquid chlorobromomethane (CBM) for use in aircraft. It was more effective
and slightly less toxic than carbon tetrachloride and was used until 1969. Methyl bromide was discovered as an
extinguishing agent in the 1920s and was used extensively in Europe. It is a low-pressure gas that works by
inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire and is the most toxic of the vaporizing liquids, used until the 1960s. The
vapor and combustion by-products of all vaporizing liquids were highly toxic and could cause death in confined
spaces.
In the 1970s, Halon 1211 came over to the United States from Europe where it had been used since the late
40s or early 50s. Halon 1301 had been developed by DuPont and the US Army in 1954. Both 1211 and 1301
work by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire, and in the case of Halon 1211, cooling class A fuels as well.
Halon is still in use today but is falling out of favor for many uses due to its environmental impact. Europe and
Australia have severely restricted its use, since the Montreal Protocol of 1987. Less severe restrictions have
been implemented in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia.[13][14]

Fire extinguishers in a museum storeroom, cut to display their inner workings.


 

A glass grenade-style extinguisher, to be thrown into a fire.


 

A US copper building type soda-acid extinguisher.


 

A US building-type chemical foam extinguisher with contents.


 

Pyrene apparatus type chemical foam, 1960s


 

A Pyrene, brass, carbon tetrachloride extinguisher.


 

Pyrene 1 qt. pump-type chlorobromomethane (CB or CBM), 1960s, UK


 

National Methyl Bromide extinguishers, UK, 1930s–40s.


 

Bell Telephone CO2 extinguisher made by Walter Kidde, 1928.


 

Du Gas cartridge-operated dry chemical extinguisher, 1945.


 

Ansul Met-L-X cartridge-operated dry powder fire extinguisher for class D fires, 1950s.

Classification[edit]
Internationally there are several accepted classification methods for hand-held fire extinguisher. Each
classification is useful in fighting fires with a particular group of fuel.

Australia and New Zealand[edit]


Specifications for fire extinguishers are set out in the standard AS/NZS 1841, the most recent version being
released in 2007. All fire extinguishers must be painted signal red. Except for water extinguishers, each
extinguisher has a coloured band near the top, covering at least 10% of the extinguisher's body length,
specifying its contents.
Fire classes (brackets denote sometimes
applicable)
Type Band colour

A B C D E F

Water Signal red A

Wet chemical Oatmeal A F

Foam Ultramarine blue A B

Dry chemical White A B C E

Dry powder (metal fires) Lime green D

Carbon dioxide Black (A) B E

Vaporizing liquid (non-halon clean


Golden yellow A B C E
agents)

No longer
Halon A B E
produced

In Australia, yellow (Halon) fire extinguishers are illegal to own or use on a fire, unless an essential use
exemption has been granted, this is due to the ozone-depleting nature of halon.[15]

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