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Hand-held fire extinguishers at KTH

According to the LSO, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, as the user of buildings or other facilities, must keep a reasonable amount of equipment for extinguishing fires and for saving lives in the event of fires. KTH employees and students must have training and access to equipment that will enable them to respond to a fire.
Hand-held fire extinguishers must be selected dependent on the nature of the activity, conditions, industry standard and MSB’s recommendations, and must be coordinated with the fire protection officer at the school or equivalent, and the KTH safety function. Unless other criteria or requirements are stipulated, KTH installs foam-type hand-held fire extinguishers as standard on its premises.

Definitions

  • LSO - Civil Protection Act
  • MSB - Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, a government agency responsible for supporting emergency response in society for accidents, crises and civil defence.
  • Class A - Hand-held fire extinguishers for fires involving solid materials such as wood, paper, textiles and various plastics.
  • Class B - Hand-held fire extinguishers for fires involving liquids and/or solids that can take on a liquid form, such as diesel, petrol and oil.
  • Class C - Hand-held fire extinguishers for gas fires.

Extinguishing equipment available at KTH

Foam extinguishers

The foam extinguishers provided are rated class AB

Foam extinguishers consist mainly of water. Adding additives modifies the surface tension and properties of the water, enabling a throw of about 4 to 5 metres. Foam extinguishers are approved for extinguishing fires involving electrical appliances at up to 1000 V.

Foam is not suitable as an extinguishing agent for fires involving water-soluble liquids such as alcohol or acetone: these require a special, alcohol-resistant foam.

Powder extinguishers

The powder extinguishers provided are rated class ABC.

Powder extinguisher contains a variety of salts with different extinguishing capacities, with a throw of about 5 to 7 metres. The powder does not conduct electricity, which means that fires involving electrical appliances can be extinguished without risk of injury. The extinguishing agent in powder extinguishers is a fine powder which is very messy and penetrates into all spaces. Powder extinguishers should not be used in rooms containing sensitive electronic equipment or other equipment that could be damaged.

Professional decontamination is required when a powder extinguisher has been used.

Carbon dioxide extinguishers

The carbon dioxide extinguishers provided are rated class B.

Carbon dioxide extinguishers contain carbon dioxide in the liquid phase, which when sprayed at a fire works by displacing the air and smothering the fire. These extinguishers have a throw of around 1 to 3 metres. Carbon dioxide is a pure extinguishing agent that leaves no trace and is not conductive. Carbon dioxide extinguishers are suitable for extinguishing fires in electronics, electrical distribution boards and laboratory environments.

Ensure safe handling when using carbon dioxide extinguishers because there is a risk that frostbite will occur very quickly upon contact with the skin because the extinguishing agent is very cold (-79 °C). There is also a risk that the fire could flare up again if the carbon dioxide evaporates before the extinguished object has fully cooled down.

Fire blanket

Fire blankets consist of one or two layers of fibreglass cloth with a liner layer that allows a minimum of combustible gases to pass through. The fire blanket smothers the fire when it is placed or wrapped around whatever is burning; then the hands can be used to smooth and press down the blanket.

It is recommended that fire blankets should be at least 120 x 180 centimetres in size.

Any fire blanket used for extinguishing a fire is spent and must be replaced with a new one.

Indoor fire hydrant

Indoor fire hydrant is a coiled hose that is usually stored in a designated cabinet. The fire hose is connected to a water ejector. There is generally no restriction on access to water via an indoor fire hydrant, which is an advantage but may also result in a risk of extensive water damage.