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 a distance). Such signs may be manufactured from a variety of materials, commonly self-adhesive vinyl, rigid PVC, and aluminum. In addition to words and pictographs indicating the presence of a fire extinguisher, some modern extinguisher identification signs also describe the extinguishing agent in the unit, and summarize the types of fire on which it may safely be used. Some public and government buildings are often required, by local legal codes, to provide an identification sign for each extinguisher on the site. Similar signs are available for other fire equipment (including fire blankets and fire hose reels/racks), and for other emergency