This could save your home and possibly your life (Kidde Easy Action Home Fire Extinguisher)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Kidde Easy Action Home Fire Extinguisher
Date:	26/10/09 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very simple to use and can be operated with one hand.

Disadvantages: None.

Do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen? You should. Most fires in the home start in the kitchen and, of course, start small. If you can put out the fire in the first minute, you can save your home. For most kitchen fires (except chip pan fires), the best way is to use a fire extinguisher.

For a fire to start, three elements must be present, known as the fire triangle:

.....Oxygen


Heat........Fuel

Removing any element causes the fire to go out. Since it's difficult to remove the fuel (i.e. what's burning), most fire extinguishers focus on removing heat or oxygen.

The best type of fire extinguisher for the kitchen is of the dry powder design. These are very efficient since they cover the fire with powder that forms a skin over the fuel, smothering the flames in seconds.

The dry powder extinguishers can be used with all common kitchen fires, including electrical, but NOT with chip pan fires, consider getting a fire blanket for these (I'm sure everyone now knows not to throw water onto a chip pan fire. If not, there's plenty of Youtube videos that will show the horrific effects of doing this).

I found a superb example of a dry powder extinguisher: the 'Kidde KSF1GM Easy Action Home Fire Extinguisher'.

The extinguisher contains 1Kg of ABC dry powder which is enough to tackle any suitable small fire. The unit has an easy carry handle, with the operating buttons close to where the thumb naturally lies, so can be operated single handed.

As mentioned above, it's important to get to a fire as soon as possible, so an extinguisher that's easy to operate is essential. This extinguisher could not be simpler. A press of the yellow button breaks the seal. The nozzle is then pointed at the base of the fire and the black lever pressed.

Unlike older types, there's no pin to pull out etc. so it can be working within seconds (it's worth making sure that everyone knows what to do with the Kidde to save the valuable seconds required to read even these simple instructions).

The extinguisher should be situated near to an exit in the kitchen (so the fire does not get between you and an exit if it spreads whilst fighting it), and inspected regularly. If the pressure gauge is in the red, it should be taken out of service.

If the extinguisher is ever operated, it MUST be replaced or recharged, even if only a small amount has been used. Failure to do so could result in not enough powder being left to tackle a fire.

Thankfully, I've never had to operate my Kidde fire extinguisher, but I have used dry powder extinguishers in fire safety training sessions at work. They are efficient, and easy to use, but they are also, very, very messy! Operating one in the kitchen will cover surfaces, floors, and walls with a fine, sticky powder that's very difficult to clean up. This is, of course, better than having the house burnt down but it's worth knowing the results of operating it!

Hopefully, none of us will ever need to use an extinguisher, but we should have one available just in case. The Kidde dry powder extinguisher, is small, efficient, and above all easy to operate and can be highly recommended for all homes.

The KSF1GM cost £15 from CostCo. It is available for around £20 from many other retailers.

Finally, a tip. The Fire Brigade offer a home fire risk assessment performed by station personnel. Fire officers visit your home and offer advice on improving the fire safety features of your house. This service is completely free and can be arranged through your local station.

Summary: Every home should have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and this is a good one.