An FYI on Fire
Extinguisher Groups
monitors indoor and outdoor temperatures, wind
speeds, and other atmospheric conditions.
“There aren’t a lot of projects like this out there,
where you can go back and look and see how
things were done. There was no baseline,” Stone
said. “We really relied on information from the
campus and on Kim Nessel’s experience.”
A
Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible
Nessel said working side by side with the
consultants and watching the facility come
together as he had envisioned was a great
experience. He said he was appreciative of the
relationship he had with the consultants to
discuss his ideas and then apply their facility
design expertise to meet his needs.
B
Class B fires involve flammable or combustible
“It was a great team process of working together
to make this happen,” Nessel said. “I learned
some things from them, and I hope they learned
some things from me through this process.”
C
Class C fires involve energized electrical equipment,
COLLABORATION KEY
Lisa Schuetz, a firefighter with the Chippewa Fire
District in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, said the
facility gives firefighters a unique opportunity
to train on a variety of situations they may face
in real-world conditions. Schuetz, an adjunct
instructor at CVTC, assists Nessel with running
the center and on the fire extinguisher tests.
D
“The first test was indescribable,” she said. “It’s
nothing that I knew from my experience as a
firefighter. The heat is different. The flame is
different. Each time we conduct a test I learn a
little bit more.”
Nessel said he had high expectations for the
design of the facility, and so far everything
is working as planned. CVTC has invited
multiple groups to watch demonstrations,
fire departments are conducting training, and
businesses are using the facility for product
development. CVTC has conducted more than
125 test burns so far and multiple training
sessions.
“It was a fun project,” Nessel said. “The fire
behavior that’s in here is even better than I
thought it would be. This facility is just working
absolutely flawlessly.”
K
materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most
plastics. The numerical rating on these types of
extinguishers indicates the amount of water it holds
and the amount of fire it can extinguish. Geometric
symbol (green triangle)
liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease, and
oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers
indicates the approximate number of square feet of
fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (red square)
such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers, and
outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires
– the risk of electrical shock is far too great. Class C
extinguishers do not have a numerical rating. The C
classification means the extinguishing agent is nonconductive. Geometric symbol (blue circle)
Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in
a chemical laboratory and industrial settings. They
are for fires that involve combustible metals, such as
magnesium, titanium, potassium, and sodium. These
types of extinguishers also have no numerical rating,
nor are they given a multipurpose rating – they are
designed for class D fires only. Geometric symbol
(yellow decagon)
Class K fire extinguishers are for fires that involve
cooking oils, trans-fats, or fats in cooking appliances
and are typically found in restaurant and cafeteria
kitchens. Geometric symbol (black hexagon)
Source: fire-extinguisher101.com
A CLOSER LOOK
For more information about the Fire Safety Center,
please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC2AH37PmeA
http://www.cvtc.edu/fire-safety-center/Pages/default.aspx
10│TRENDS
BENEFITS TO NEW CENTER EXTEND
BEYOND CHIPPEWA VALLEY
Chippewa Valley Technical College’s Fire Safety Center
offers a variety of opportunities for real-world training
and tests that will help improve fire safety locally and
nationwide, says Kim Nessel, coordinator of the center.
Area firefighters already have been training on methods
to extinguish blazes caused by highly flammable chemicals
and types of wood materials under varying conditions. The
City of Eau Claire Fire Department recently held an arson
detection class at the site. And CVTC has held numerous
demonstrations for campus staff and community members
and is working on incorporating the site into its curriculum.
Businesses are using the site for Underwriters Laboratories
(UL) 711 certifications on their fire extinguishers, Nessel
said. Other similar facilities are in Canada and near
Chicago, although each of those facilities has testing
limitations, he said. The most comparable test site to
CVTC’s facility is under construction in Dubai.
CVTC also is hoping the building can be used as a venue for
business and industry to rent for product demonstrations
and service-related classes, Nessel said.
“For example, if a company is marketing a new tool or
fire extinguisher, they can invite prospective distributors
to see the product in use, and they have a classroom to
present the information in a comfortable setting,” he said.
“Additionally, companies often are looking for a location to
hold in-service training and mechanical updates for service
technicians. This facility would be fantastic for either of
those settings.”
– Eric Widholm
TRENDS
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