As we all know, fire is extremely dangerous and can be life threatening if allowed to spread quickly. For this reason, it’s so important to understand the different types of fire classifications, what fuels them and how to prevent them. Continue reading our helpful guide to discover what a Class A fire is and what Class A fire fuels are.
Class A fire explained
A Class A fire is the most common type of fire. Class A fire fuel consists of ordinary combustibles like fabric, paper, and wood. This happens when the material reaches a certain temperature, which causes its ignition.
If a pile of rubbish is on fire, it’s likely a Class A fire. Also, a general rule of thumb is that if the fire produces ash, then it is a Class A fire.
How to tackle a Class A fire
With different classifications of fire comes different types of fire extinguishers. Knowing which one is best to tackle a Class A fire is the best way to ensure it doesn’t spread quickly.
If you’re ever faced with a Class A fire, you should always tackle it by using a water extinguisher. If you don’t have a water extinguisher to hand then foam, powder or wet chemical extinguishers will also do the trick.
Failing that, if you don’t have any extinguishers available, then a water hose is effective at putting out a Class A fire. This can help to dampen the embers afterward to ensure it doesn’t reignite.
It’s important to remember that a Class A fire will continue to burn as long as there is heat, oxygen, and fuel.
How to prevent a Class A fire
Of course, everyone would prefer it if there was no fire to tackle at all. To do that, you must understand ways to prevent a Class A fire.
You can prevent a Class A fire by ensuring you don’t leave large piles of rubbish, or other materials, lying around on the ground. To also further limit the chances of it igniting, you should enforce a no smoking rule nearby.
Class A fires can be difficult to prevent, especially if they’re started maliciously. So to limit the damage caused by a Class A fire, consider keeping rubbish far away from any buildings. This way, if they do catch fire, the damage is minimal and should be contained to just the materials in the pile.
Further Class A Fire prevention
If your place of work often has piles of rubbish or loose materials that could cause a Class A fire lying around, then the best course of action is to order a fire risk assessment.
A fire risk assessment is an organised inspection of your premises to determine if there are any fire hazards that could cause harm, identifying the measures currently in place, and estimating the level of risk for existing hazards. The aim of a fire risk assessment is to remove these hazards and to reduce them to an acceptable level.
Fire risk assessments are not just for places of work, though. Residential fire risk assessments can also be performed in multiple occupancy buildings, such as apartment blocks.
Ensuring your property, whether a place of business or residential, is up to date with proper fire safety measures following a fire risk assessment, is the best way to prevent a Class A fire.
Fire risk prevention with NW Fire Solutions
NW Fire Solutions offers comprehensive residential fire risk assessments to keep your property and its inhabitants safe and secure. As a responsible person of a multiple occupancy or commercially managed residential property, it is your legal obligation to ensure an up to date fire risk assessment is in place.
At North West Fire Solutions, we provide all types of fire risk assessments for all types of residential properties.
If you would like to know more about us and the services we provide, don’t hesitate to contact us today on 0151 665 0124 or email us at nfo@nwfiresolutions.co.uk.