Classes of Fire

Classes of fire

Fires are classified by the materials (or fuel) that they burn.

There are five formal classifications of fire and one unofficial classification:

Class A

Fires which burn flammable solids such as paper, wood and plastic.

Class B

Fires which burn flammable liquids such as paint, petrol and oil.

Class C

Fires which burn gases such as hydrogen, propane and butane.

Class D

Fires which burn metals such as potassium, aluminium and magnesium.

Electrical Fires

Fires which involve electrical equipment. This type of fire does not have its own class as fires involving electrical equipment can fall into any other classes.

Class F

Fires which involve cooking oils and fats, including chip pan fires.

Extinguishing fires

The correct fire extinguisher or fire extinguishing method must be used on each class of fire. If the wrong type of extinguisher is used you may intensify the fire or make the situation more dangerous.

Take a look at the table below to see which extinguisher to use on each class of fire.

classes of fire table

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