Fire extinguisher had been developed by DuPont and the US Army in 1954. Both 1211 and 1301 work by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire, and in the case of Halon 1211, cooling class A fuels as well. Halon is still in use today but is falling out of favor for many uses due to its environmental impact. Europe and Australia have severely restricted its use, since the Montreal Protocol of 1987. Less severe restrictions have been implemented in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. Internationally there are several accepted classification methods for hand-held fire extinguisher. Each classification is
Fire extinguisher equipment (such as first aid kits). Most licensing authorities have regulations describing the standard appearance of these signs (e.g., text height, pictographs used and so on). Photoluminescent fire extinguisher signs are made with nontoxic photoluminescent phosphor that absorbs ambient light and releases it slowly in dark conditions – the sign "glows in the dark". Such signs are independent of an external power supply, and so offer a low-cost, reliable means of indicating the position of emergency equipment in dark or smoky conditions. The luminance performance for life safety appliance location signs should meet the requirements of International Standard ISO 17398