How do Fire Extinguishers work,

and who made them?

By: Ethan K.

Why were fire extinguishers made, and who made them?

Back then, fires caused huge casualties, and devastated properties. Fire fighters would come and extinguish the fires. However, it would be better if there would be small things that could take out minute fires in classrooms and buildings before they could spread. People wouldn’t need to call firefighters to take out tiny fires. Using water for small fires may seem inexpensive, but if small fires become gargantuan, taking them out can be very expensive. Therefore, people needed to take out the small fires in the beginning before they could spread. So, an ingenious man named George William Manby made the fire extinguisher. This invention changed “taking out fire” history forever. Nowadays, you can see fire extinguishers in buildings, classrooms, and many more places. You can thank George William Manby for the lifesaving devices.

On the outside of a fire extinguisher, it is a steel container. In a fire extinguisher, there is a canister that has high pressure gas in it.(2)When you release the safety pin(1) and press the handle, a valve opens and the pressure goes out of the canister and fills the container, thus pushes the water(3) into the nozzle.(4)Then, the water gets pushed up the nozzle and out of the opening(5). It is really quite simple.

How do fire extinguishers work?

What is the fire triangle?

A fire needs three things to “live”. It needs oxygen, heat, and fuel. This is called the fire triangle. If you take one thing out, a fire will extinguish. If there is a fire, you would probably think of using water to make it go out. This takes away the heat in the fire. Fire extinguishers take out different things, depending on what kind of fire extinguisher it is.

Fuel Oxygen

Heat

needs

There are different types of fire extinguishers?

There are three different types of fire extinguishers: water, dry chemical, and carbon dioxide. Water fire extinguishers take away the heat in a fire. Dry chemical fire extinguishers have foam or dry powder in them. They smother the fire, taking its oxygen source, making it go out. Lastly, carbon dioxide fire extinguishers have liquid and carbon dioxide in them, and it affects the fire triangle in two ways. it takes away the oxygen, and it is very cool, so it takes out the heat. Each kind is best for taking out a specific fire, like a forest fire.