Not all fires are the same: Wolfratshausen firefighter gives tips

Created: 11/25/2022, 8:00 p.m

By: Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss

Different extinguishing agents for different fire classes: Commander Andreas Bauer with (from left) an AB, ABC and Co2 fire extinguisher (suitable for fire class B).

All three are hanging ready to hand in the fire station.

© Hermsdorf-Hiss

Andreas Bauer, first commander of the Wolfratshauser Wehr, advises the purchase of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

– The depiction of a fat explosion is one of the attractions at the open day of the fire brigades.

Fats and oils, for example, can heat up so much in a pan that they start to burn.

The attempt to extinguish the fire with water ends fatally: a meter-high fireball shoots at the kitchen ceiling, as the water evaporates due to the great heat of the fat and the burning oil escapes explosively from the pan.

You can imagine the consequences for life and limb, but also for the kitchen or apartment.

The Wolfratshausen fire brigade was only recently called to a grease fire in the Untermarkt.

Fortunately, a police officer who arrived first had courageously grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire.

This was the only way to prevent even greater damage.

But what is the right fire extinguisher to put out a grease fire?

According to Andreas Bauer, first commander of the Wolfratshauser Wehr, there are two options: "An ABC powder fire extinguisher or a grease fire extinguisher that was specially developed for such cases." In order to be able to contain a fire quickly, the right extinguishing agent must be used .

The combustible substances are divided according to fire classes.

“A includes, for example, glowing substances such as wood, paper or textiles.

B includes flammable liquid substances such as petrol, oil and tar,” the expert knows.

C denotes gaseous combustible substances such as propane or acetyl, D denotes combustible metals (aluminium, lithium), and F stands for oils and fats.

These designations can be found on the fire extinguishers.

Bauer definitely recommends

having a six-kilo ABC powder extinguisher ready to hand in the house – even if you have to vacuum and wipe for a long time after using it because of the powder cloud.

"But I think that's the lesser evil."

Of course, the fire extinguisher should be ready to hand "in a place where it burns the least, for example on the wall in the stairwell".

Because they are remote, basements or attics are the most unsuitable places imaginable.

"In the event of a fire, quick action is the order of the day - nothing else."

According to Bauer, it is just as helpful to familiarize yourself with the instructions for use from time to time.

In addition, a specialist should check the functionality of the fire extinguisher at regular intervals – two years is recommended.

Keep calm in an emergency

The following generally applies in the event of a fire: keep calm, dial the emergency number for the fire brigade and, if this is possible without endangering yourself, start an attempt to extinguish it.

If the fire has already progressed too far, close the windows and doors, warn the neighbours, wait in front of the house for the fire brigade and instruct them.

"But the most important thing is prophylaxis," says the fire chief emphatically.

This starts with a ready-made suitable lid to be able to smother any oil fire in the pan to smoke detectors.

"They definitely save lives," says Bauer.

Only recently, the emergency services had to make such an experience.

Only hours after the grease fire in Untermarkt, the fire brigade was called to a cable fire in the early morning.

Here, too, the signal tone of the smoke detector quickly warned the residents.

According to the fire protection experts at Dekra, 95 percent of fire victims do not die from the fire, but from inhaling the smoke gases released.

And there is another figure to think about: 70 percent of fire victims die during the night hours because their sense of smell does not react while they sleep (source: Dekra) "It is all the more important to install smoke detectors," emphasizes Bauer,

Both the various extinguishing agents (ABC fire extinguishers, six kilograms, around 30 euros) and the smoke detectors (from 6 euros upwards, depending on the version) can be bought in a wide variety of hardware stores and consumer markets.

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