Fire extinguisher sizes for different classes of fire extinguisher

Posted By: Ubong Edeton: April 04, 2019In: Health and Safety ArticlesNo Comments

The fire extinguisher sizes are the numbers written alongside the fire extinguisher classification letters. This tells the size of the fire extinguisher.

Example, for the extinguisher classification – 2A:10B:C, the numbers in-front of the letters are the different sizes. It implies that the above fire extinguisher can put out a fire just as effectively as 2½ gallons of water since 1 equals 1¼ gallons of water; 10B indicates that you can expect to douse a fire that had spread to cover 10 square feet and a class C fire extinguishing agent.

Here are the different extinguisher sizes for different classes of the fire extinguisher:

Class A extinguisher sizes: Class A size ratings range from 1 to 40. This tells you the water equivalency. 1 equals 1¼ gallons of water, so in this example, 2A means the extinguisher can put out a fire just as effectively as 2½ gallons of water.
Class B extinguisher sizes: Class B size ratings range from 1 to 640. This number estimates the square footage an extinguisher can cover. In the above example, 10B indicates that you can expect to douse a fire that had spread to cover 10 square feet.
Class C,D OR K extinguisher sizes: There are no numeric size ratings for fighting Class C, D, or K fires because these classifications simply indicate that the extinguisher is recommended for fighting electrical fires, flammable metal fires, or kitchen fires, respectively.

Here are some common sizes of the portable fire extinguisher:

Foam fire extinguisher

3, 6 & 9 Litre

Water extinguisher

3, 6 & 9 Litre

Dry powder extinguisher

1, 2, 4, 6 & 9 Kg

Carbon Dioxide

2 & 5 Kg

Wet chemical extinguisher

3 & 6 Litre

Aside from this portable fire extinguisher sizes, there are industrial sizes for fire extinguishers, like – 25kg CO2, 25kg & 50kg DCP, 50 Liters foam, 50 Liters Water.

Further Reading

Automatic fire extinguisher: How it works & Types

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Ubong Edet

A passionate Health and Safety professional with a good level of field experience and relevant certifications including NEBOSH, OSHA, etc certifications. An Health and Safety activist who believes in the growth and continual improvement of the profession. He is going all out to create awareness and safe precious lives.