How to extinguish an electrical fire

There is a risk of electrical fire where there is electricity, especially when the installation is not protected. Within factories and households and hotels, shopping centres and hospitals, any facilities with electricity is likely to suffer these kinds of fires that cause annually thousands of deaths throughout the world. The dreadful fire situation could be caused by the breakdown or the electrical overload of a device connected to the main power supply in which is mandatory to act at once and safely. Let’s see in this post how to proceed with in case of dealing with a fire of electrical causes.

What to do in case of electrical fire?

1.Call the fire department. First of all, inform the firefighting professional services. Provide as much information as possible to ensure an effective course of action.

2.Turn off the fuses. Then, defuse the switchboard of the place where the electrical fire is located. We will prevent the spread to other devices that may suffer breakdown or overload too by cutting off the power,

3.When the fire is small: some sodium bicarbonate, a blanket. In case of minor fire, you could use in the very beginning, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, the one you have in the kitchen) to extinguish the flames. It will emit carbon dioxide when heated and thereby helping to contain the flames. You could also use a blanket (ideally flame-retardant) to remove all the oxygen from the fire. Like any other living thing, a fire needs oxygen to feed itself, so once we deprive oxygen of it, it will put itself out.

4.When the fire is large: CO2 fire extinguisher (carbon dioxide) or Dry powder fire extinguisher (ABC). On the other hand, if we face a fast and growing fire, it gets more serious. The use of a CO2 Fire Extinguisher is almost obligated. It is not an electricity conductor, thus the best resource in these cases. Moreover, it does not cause any damage to the electrical panel or any device that is burning and it does not leave any waste. It is also possible to use a polyvalent powder extinguisher (ABC type), which also does not conduct the electricity and creates a sticky coating that favours oxygen isolation and thus prevents combustion when is activated. However, the last extinguisher mentioned does leave residue and could damage parts or equipment.

What NOT to do before an electric fire?

–DO NOT extinguish with water. In the event of a fire of electrical origin (due to a short circuit, the breakdown in an appliance or a poorly protected cable, for example), something that should never be done is to turn it off with water as the risk increases. Due to its electrical conductivity, it could cause electrocution.

-DO NOT: Use a Class A Fire Extinguisher. Under no circumstances we will use a Class A fire extinguisher, which are water extinguishers, Otherwise, there is the danger of electrocution.

How to prevent an electric fire?

To prevent what can become a tragedy by the flames of an electrical panel, appliance or cable installation, the market offers us different solutions as protection measures. Among them, we may find the lighting and socket covers, which act as a shield to the flames protecting the source of electricity. mercor tecresa® has developed in this sense the lighting cover and socket covers Tecssel®, with high intumescent properties (before the fire they swell and form an insulating and protective barrier). This is achieved by its composition that combines graphite and mineral wool. They allow to obstruct the holes of the installation as a protective coating in case of fire. These Tecsel® products possess as well another advantages since in addition of being a clean and light solution, they enjoy a very simple installation.