Leopard Catamarans 40 - 2-11.1 Classes Of Fire; 2-11.2 Extinguishment Of Fires

48 | 2-11 FireFighting
2-11.1 CLASSES OF FIRE
Class "A" Fires occur in ordinary
combustiblematerialssuchaswood,cloth,
paper,rubber,andmanyplasticsincluding
breglass reinforced plastics. Fires in
beddingandupholsteryareClass"A"res.
Class "B" Fires occurinammableliquids,
oils, greases, tars, oil-based paints,
lacquersandammablegases.Gasoline,
diesel, alcohol and kerosene res are
Class"B"res.
Class "C" Fires occur in energized
electrical equipment. The electrical non-
conductivity of the extinguishing agent is
important.Iftheelectricalequipmentisde-
energizedarelatedremaybeaClass"A"
or"B"reforthepurposeofreextinguishing
agentselection.
DANGER
2-11.2 EXTINGUISHMENT OF FIRES
Class "A" Fires - Water is the best means
of extinguishment and should be applied
assoonaspossible.Drenchthere,open
up the material to expose all burning
embers and drenchthem again,or throw
smouldering embers overboard. Multi-
purpose dry chemical, Halon 1211, and
Halo-carbon agents are also effective
agents.
Class "B" Fires - Halon, Halo-carbons,
dry chemical, and carbon dioxide are
suitableforClass"B"res.Ingeneralthe
extinguishingagent should bedirectedat
thebaseofthereworkinginahorizontal
sweepingmotionfromthefronttotheback
ofthere.
Class "C" Fires-ExtinguishmentofClass
"C"resmaybeaccomplishedwithcarbon
dioxide, dry chemical, Halon, and Halo-
carbonagents.Water-basedextinguishing
agentsshouldnotbeusedbecauseofthe
potentialdangerofelectricalshocktothe
re ghter and the possibility of short
circuitingtheelectricalcircuits.
LPG or CNG Fires:
Therearespecialconsiderationsregarding
resinvolvingliqueedpetroleumgasand
compressed natural gas.An uncontrolled
reinvolvingliqueedpetroleumgas(also
referred to asLPG, butane,propane and
sometimes brand names) or compressed
naturalgas(alsoreferredtoasCNG)will
usually occur when there is a leak or a
breakattheappliance,insupplylines,or
possibly at the cylinder outlet. The re
takestheformofaconcentratedmassof
ameadjacenttotheleakorbreakwhere
thefuelmixeswiththeairandburns.Itis
recognized that dry chemical or Halon
extinguishing agents may extinguish the
re, but if the fuel supply is not shut off
immediately, the extinguishment may set
the conditions for a greater hazard (i.e.,
explosion).