- Author
- Wetterlund, H.
- Title
- Handbrandslackare i hemmiljo. [Hand Held Fire Extinguishers in the Residential Environment.]
- Coporate
- SP Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, Boras, Sweden
- Report
- SP Report 1999:13; Brandforsk Project 504-981; SRV Project 330-211902, 1999, 44 p.
- Distribution
- For more information contact: SP Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, Box 857, SE-501 15 BORAS, Sweden. Telephone: +46 33 16 50 00, Fax: +46 33 13 55 02, Email: info@sp.se Website: http://www.sp.se/eng/default.htm
- Keywords
- fire extinguishers | residential buildings | dry chemicals | water | foam extinguishing agents | fire hoses | powders
- Identifiers
- portable fire extinguishers; room environment; hose reel
- Abstract
- ONLY ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: A series of fire extinguishing tests have been performed in a home type environment. The purpose of the tests was to determine if the use of different types of extinguishing media or different sizes extinguishers would result in differences in performance. Powder (dry chemical) as well as water and foam extinguishers have been tested. The tests were conducted in a mock-up living room, where the fire was started in a sofa. The degree of obstruction between the operator and the fire was varied by changing the size of a simulated bookcase. The choice of extinguishing agent was not of vital importance for the extinguishing result as long as the fires were small and well exposed. It was observed that it was the total amount of extinguishing agent used, not the rating of the extinguisher which influenced the extinguishing results the most. The agent delivery rate is mostly higher for a larger extinguisher than for a smaller one. In general, a larger obstruction influenced the extinguishing results negatively. The water extinguishers were most sensitive to the degree of obstruction. Both powder and foam extinguishers performed better than water extinguishers. When comparing between powder extinguishers and foam extinguishers it can be concluded that a powder extinguisher extinguishes fires faster and more efficiently than the corresponding size foam extinguisher. A drawback with powder is that it creates an environment in the room in which it is difficult to reenter. This would be negative if a second extinguishing attempt has to be made. If the fire is not entirely extinguished, the time to reignition seems to be shorter when using powder compared with foam. The time to reignition was considerably shorter with water than with either foam or powder. The test series also included tests with a small hose reel intended to be mounted below the kitchen sink. The hose was flat rolled and equipped with universal fittings to fit on water taps, common in normal households. The two tests showed that the performance of the hose reel was less than a portable water fire extinguisher. The size of the extinguisher is very important for successful extinguishing. It is recommended to use the largest extinguisher that can be handled by the intended operator.