Fire blanket - wikipedia Fire blanket Fire blanket Play media Extinguishing of a fire with a fire blanket A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish incipient ( starting ) fires. It consists of a sheet of a fire retardant material which is placed over a fire in order to smother it. Small fire blankets, such as for use in kitchens and around the home, are usually made of fiberglass and sometimes kevlar, and are folded into a quick - release contraption for ease of storage. Fire blankets, along with fire extinguishers, are fire safety items that can be useful in case of a fire. These nonflammable blankets are helpful in temperatures up to 900 degrees and are useful in smothering fires by not allowing any oxygen to the fire. Due to its simplicity, a fire blanket may be more helpful for someone who is inexperienced with fire extinguishers. Larger fire blankets, for use in laboratory and industrial situations, are often made of wool ( sometimes treated with a flame retardant fluid ). These blankets are usually mounted in vertical quick - release container so that they can be easily pulled out and wrapped round a person whose clothes are on fire. Contents 1 Dangers 1.1 Asbestos in old blankets 1.2 Extinguishing boilovers 2 Operation 3 See also 4 References Dangers Asbestos in old blankets Some older fire blankets were made of woven asbestos fibers and are not NFPA rated. This can pose a hazard during the decommissioning of old equipment. Extinguishing boilovers After initial investigation in 2013, and later in 2014, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority issued a statement that fire blankets should never be used to extinguish a Boilover such as a chip pan fire, even if the icons or text on the blanket indicates the blanket may be used in such a case. This includes fire blankets which have been tested according to BS EN 1869. In the investigation out of the 22 tested fire blankets, 16 of the fire blankets themselves caught fire. In the other 6 the fire reignited when the blanket was removed after 17 minutes. The Dutch Fire Burn foundation reported several accidents involving the use of fire blankets when extinguishing boilovers. Consumers may send in their existing fire blankets, which will then receive a sticker stating ' niet geschikt voor olie - en vetbranden ' ( `` not suitable for oil - and fat fires '' ). New products will have this text printed, rather than stickered. Operation For a fire to burn, all three elements of the fire triangle must be present : heat, fuel and oxygen. The fire blanket is used to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire, thereby putting it out. The fire blanket must be sealed closely to a solid surface around the fire. Fire blankets usually have two pull down tails visible from outside the packaging. The user should place one hand on each tag and pull down simultaneously removing the blanket from the bag. The tails are located near the top of the fire blanket which allows the top lip of the fire blanket to fold back over the users ' hands, protecting them from heat and direct contact burns. See also Welding blanket References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fire blankets. Jump up ^ Fire Blanket Usage Archived 2007 - 12 - 27 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` NVWA - Niet alle blusdekens blussen olie - en vetbranden ''. Archived from the original on 2014 - 11 - 07. Jump up ^ `` NVWA - Belangrijke veiligheidswaarschuwing : blusdekens niet geschikt voor frituurbranden ''. Archived from the original on 2014 - 11 - 07. Jump up ^ http://www.vwa.nl/txmpub/files/?p_file_id=2207490 Jump up ^ https://www.nvwa.nl/txmpub/files/?p_file_id=2204607 Jump up ^ `` Vlam in de pan : niet blussen met een blusdeken ''. Nederlandse Brandwonden Stichting. Archived from the original on 2014 - 11 - 07. Jump up ^ `` NVWA - NVWA controleert etikettering blusdekens ''. Archived from the original on 2014 - 11 - 07. Fire protection General Active fire protection Passive fire protection Fire suppression Manual Fire blanket Fire bucket Fire extinguisher Automatic Condensed aerosol fire suppression Fire sprinkler system Fire sprinkler Gaseous fire suppression Detection Flame detector Heat detector Smoke detector Notification Drill Fire alarm system Call box Control panel Notification appliance Pull station / call point Smoke detector Awards Arthur B. Guise Medal Harry C. 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Question: which type of fabric would be an ideal material to make a blanket used to extinguish fires
Answer: wool