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Fire extinguishers

Verificado 2026-07-26

Uso bajo tu propia responsabilidad. Material educativo y de investigación, no sustituye al médico. Verifica los números y las normas del país en el que estés. Cambian. Antes de confiar en estas fichas en la práctica, revíselas con un profesional sanitario o un especialista en seguridad contra incendios. Aviso legal

Esta ficha aún no está traducida, por lo que el texto siguiente está en inglés. Los números de emergencia y las notas legales de esta página ya son locales.

Haz esto de inmediato

Fight a fire only while it is smaller than you, your exit is clear behind you, and the extinguisher matches what is burning.

A portable extinguisher empties in fifteen to twenty seconds. That is enough for a wastebasket, not for a burning room. The letters on the label are the whole science: they say which fires this unit can touch and which ones it will make worse.

Paso a paso

Read the class letters before you ever need them. A is solids like wood and fabric, B is liquids, C is gases, D is metals, F is cooking oils and fats.
Match the agent to the fire. Water takes only A. Foam takes A and B. Powder takes A, B and C and most household fires. CO2 takes B and electrical equipment. Wet chemical takes F, the burning pan.
Pull the pin, and test with a short burst before you approach.
Aim at the base of the flames, not at the smoke. The fire lives where fuel meets air, at the bottom.
Squeeze and sweep side to side across the base, moving in slowly. Keep your exit behind your back the whole time.
When the flames are out, watch the spot. Embers reignite, so be ready to repeat, and ventilate powder and CO2 fumes.
If the extinguisher runs empty and anything still burns, close the door on it, get out and call 112. You had your one attempt.

Nunca hagas esto

Never use water or foam on live electrical equipment, and never water on burning oil or fat. One electrocutes you, the other throws a fireball.
Never hold the metal horn of a CO2 extinguisher. It drops to minus seventy degrees and freezes skin on contact.
Never turn your back on a fire you just put out, and never let the fire get between you and the door.

Llama a emergencias si

Any fire your first extinguisher did not finish, and any fire in a wall, ceiling or electrical panel.
Any fire in a room filling with smoke, however small the flames look.
After every extinguished fire involving gas equipment, so the installation gets checked.

Preguntas frecuentes

Which single extinguisher should I buy for home?

A six kilogram ABC powder unit covers the widest range, but powder ruins electronics and fills the room with blinding dust. For a kitchen, add a fire blanket and, if you fry often, a small wet chemical unit. Mount them by the exit, not next to the cooker.

How often does it need service?

Look at the gauge monthly, needle in the green. Most manufacturers require professional inspection every one to two years and the pressure test at longer intervals, and the sticker on the unit tells you when the last one was. An extinguisher without service is a decoration.