CO2 fire extinguishers are designed to combat Class B fires involving flammable liquids such as solvents, paraffin, petrol, diesel or oil. Electrical fires, such as those caused by large computer equipment, mean that CO2 is more common in offices.

The canister has a red body, a black banner running along the top section labelling it CO2, and a horn-shaped nozzle. White capitalised text is used for the CO2 label.

CO2 fire extinguishers are commonly found in shops, schools, hospitals, technology stores and server rooms.

A CO2 fire extinguisher will only need changing every ten years. If you discharge the fire extinguisher then you can have it refilled by a professional like ourselves.

All our portable fire extinguishers are supplied ready for use, but those with larger capacities may need to be filled and charged prior to the first time they’re used. The product listing will explain this clearly.

Fire extinguishers must be serviced every 12 months, this is known as the “basic service”. This service should be performed in accordance with British Standard BS5036-3 and conducted by a third-party, appropriately trained technician.

This depends entirely on what you are trying to extinguish, below are some examples of fires you could encounter.

Class A –Solid Combustibles (wood, paper, cloth etc.)

• Class A Fire Extinguishers – Water, Water Additive, Dry Powder and Wet Chemical

Class B –Flammable Liquids (oils, solvents, alcohol, gasoline etc.)

• Class B Fire Extinguishers –CO2, Dry Powder and Foam

Class C –Flammable Gases (propane, butane, petroleum gases etc)

• Class C Fire Extinguishers –Dry Powder

Class D –Flammable Metals (magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, titanium etc.)

• Class D Fire Extinguishers –Specialist Dry Powder (M28, MonneX and L2)

Electrical –Electrical Fires

• Fire Extinguishers for Electrical Fires – CO2 and Dry Powder

Class F –Flammable Cooking (cooking oils and fats)

• Class F Fire Extinguishers –Wet Chemical