Basic Guide to Fire Type Classification

Fire protection differs in approaches, depending on the type of fire. Thus, it is essential to first classify the fire by determining the scenario. In general, fire could be classified into the following:

Fire Types	European Classification	North American Classification	Australian Classification
Fire caused by solids such as wooden material, cloth, synthetic materials, rubber, etc.	A	A	A
Fire caused by flammable liquids such oil and gasoline (but not cooking oil)	B	B	B
Fire caused by gas such as propane, hydrogen gas, natural gas	C	C
Fire caused by metal combustion	D	D	D
Fire caused by Class A & B, but with electrical devices in close proximity	E		C
Fires caused by cooking oil	F	F	K

With class A, most suppression methods would be appropriate for disintegrating fire.
Class B & C are flammable liquids and gas that would require a little more specificity such as using suppression methods of preventing chemical chain reactions from occurring, using dry chemical or Halon.
Class D fire involves metal and is more complex. The suppression agent will depend on the type of metal, as some metals are highly reactive to water or air.
Fires involving electricity will require special attention because of risk of electrical shock. In this case, agents with high conductivity are not used in order to prevent electricity.
Finally, for fire with in cooking oil, typically in the kitchen”, they can be stopped with water mist or even blanket fire sometimes.

As with many fire protection devices and equipment, types of fire classification vary between different governmental jurisdictions. Nonetheless, proper fire protection all follows the same guideline of education, passive fire protection and active fire protection.

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Basic Guide to Fire Type Classification