The extinguisher must be within easy reach and in working order, fully charged. The extinguisher must be kept near the exit, so the user has an escape route that will not be blocked by fire. The extinguisher must match the type of fire you are fighting. Extinguishers that contain water are unsuitable for use on grease or electrical fires. The extinguisher must be large enough to put out the fire.
Most portable extinguishers discharge completely in as few as eight seconds.
Choosing Your Extinguisher Fire extinguishers are tested by independent testing laboratories. They will be labled for the type of fire they are intended to extinguish. There are three basic classes of fires. All fire extinguishers are labeled using standard symbols for the classes of fires they can put out. A red slash through any of the symbols tells you the extinguisher cannot be used on that class of fire.