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
Chubb Fire 1912–1918 The North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company carried out a series of stringent tests on the 'Petrolex' extinguisher and informed Read and Campbell that, 'I have never seen any fire extinguishing appliance that seemed as well suited and effective for dealing with fires in Electrical Stations'. Further patents were granted in France and Brazil during this period. In 1914, foam compound was registered in Great Britain. Read and Campbell introduced their 'Rocsuds' which was an early form of foam extinguisher. The contents were, amongst other things, saponin, derived from the roots of soapwort, sodium bicarbonate, extract of vegetable syrup