Fire extinguisher five categories. In the UK the use of Halon gas is now prohibited except under certain situations such as on aircraft and in the military and police. Fire extinguishing performance per fire class is displayed using numbers and letters such as 13A, 55B. EN3 does not recognise a separate electrical class - however there is an additional feature requiring special testing (35 kV dielectric test per EN 3-7:2004). A powder or CO extinguisher will bear an electrical pictogramme as standard signifying that it can be used on live electrical fires (given the symbol E in the table). If a water-based
Fire extinguisher reaching it. Unlike powder, foam can be used to progressively extinguish fires without flashback. Cools burning material. Very effective against fires in furniture, fabrics, etc. (including deep-seated fires), but can be safely used only in the absence of electricity. Wet chemical (potassium acetate, potassium carbonate, or potassium citrate) extinguishes the fire by forming an air-excluding soapy foam blanket over the burning oil through the chemical process of saponification (an alkali reacting with a fat to form a soap) and by the water content cooling the oil below its ignition temperature. Generally, class A and K (F in Europe) only, although