Extinguisher

The extinguisher is a Loot item. It is a portable device that allows you to extinguish fires, including burning soldiers.

## In Game

### Obtaining

The extinguisher can be found wherever loot is dropped. Methods include:

* Killing a German (3%) who is carrying one.
* Opening a loot crate, of either side.
* **Classic Exclusive:** Placing a supply depot, which spawns loot.
* **Classic Exclusive:** Purchasing one for 1 TP.

### Usage

When your men are burning to death, it's often too late to figure out how this device works.

1. Select your soldier by clicking on him.
2. **Right-click** in the direction of the fire.
3. Do not get pinned, as this will stop the extinguishing action.

### Effects

In addition to putting out fires, the extinguisher also **stuns** and **de-stealths** troops caught in its blast. It can be used to temporarily disable enemy troops in an attack, giving you the upper hand in the first crucial moments of a fight.

## History

A **fire extinguisher** is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e., no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the equipment, personnel, resources, and/or expertise of a fire brigade. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent that can be discharged to extinguish a fire. Fire extinguishers manufactured with non-cylindrical pressure vessels also exist but are less common.

The type of extinguisher used during WW2 possibly featured a cartridge-operated dry chemical extinguisher, which used sodium bicarbonate specially treated with chemicals to render it free-flowing and moisture-resistant. It consisted of a copper cylinder with an internal CO2cartridge. The operator turned a wheel valve on top to puncture the cartridge and squeezed a lever on the valve at the end of the hose to discharge the chemical.

In the 1940’s, Germany invented the liquid chlorobromomethane (CBM) for use in aircraft. It was more effective and slightly less toxic than carbon tetrachloride and was used until 1969. Methyl bromide was discovered as an extinguishing agent in the 1920’s and was used extensively in Europe. It is a low-pressure gas that works by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire and is the most toxic of the vaporizing liquids, used until the 1960’s. The vapor and combustion by-products of all vaporizing liquids were highly toxic, and could cause death in confined spaces.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) extinguisher was invented (at least in the US) by the Walter Kidde Company in 1924 in response to Bell Telephone’s request for an electrically non-conductive chemical for extinguishing the previously difficult to extinguish fires in telephone switchboards. It consisted of a tall metal cylinder containing 7.5 lbs. of CO2 with a wheel valve and a woven brass, cotton covered hose, with a composite funnel-like horn as a nozzle. CO2 is still popular today as it is an ozone-friendly clean agent and is useful for an extinguishing a person who is on fire, hence its widespread use in film and television.