FACTS
- Fire extinguishers have proven their effectiveness in extinguishing fires, saving lives, and protecting property from fire. Most uses of fire extinguishers are never reported because users do not want the authorities Every effort should be made to ensure that, as a minimum, fire extinguishers are located and maintained in accordance with the NFPA standards.
- Businesses should train workers regarding potential fire hazards in their workplace, and also on what procedures should be followed in the event of a fire emergency.
STATS
- Of the 4,401 fires reported, portable fire extinguishers successfully extinguished 4,216 fires (95%). A single fire extinguisher was used to extinguish the fire in 3,339 reported fires (72%). The most common types of fuel that were involved in these fires were Class A (47%), Class B (35%), and Class C 14%.
- Fire extinguishers can effectively put out 80% of all fires, even if the extinguisher is classified as a portable unit. When a fire extinguisher is used on a fire in the United States, 75% of the time, the fire department is not required to attend the incident. (EnGauge Inc.)
- In 60% of all fire incidents which occur, the fire department is never notified if a fire extinguisher is present and accessible. Almost 2 million fires are handled entirely by a fire extinguisher in the U.S. every year. (EnGauge Inc.)
- The most popular type of fire extinguisher sold today is the CLASS A extinguisher which accounts for 41.8% of total sales.
- Data in Europe on fire extinguisher use is similar to data generated in the United States. In 2,600 tracked incidents, 81.5% of incidents with a portable fire extinguisher resulted in a fire being extinguished. In 74.6% of the incidents, the fire department was not required.
- In 60% of all fire incidents which occur, the fire department is never notified if a fire extinguisher is present and accessible. Almost 2 million fires are handled entirely by a fire extinguisher in the U.S. every year.
- Another 147,000 fires within commercial structures are handled through the use of a fire extinguisher annually without the fire department being notified.
- The amount of estimated savings that the fire extinguisher industry is able to achieve in the United States from structure fire incidents is about $5 billion. In total, more than 5.3 million fires occurred where a fire extinguisher was the only needed form of suppression.