FIRE EXTINGUISHERS & BLANKET
First-aid firefighting equipment is the part of a fire protection scheme an occupant actually reaches for. STARCO supplies, installs and maintains the full range of portable and trolley-mounted extinguishers together with fire blankets, selecting type and siting against the class of fire and the occupancy of each area, in line with Abu Dhabi Civil Defence regulation and NFPA practice.
Equipment is commissioned with the rest of the fire fighting package and covered by the same preventive maintenance contract.
TYPES OF FIRE EXTINGUISHER
- DRY CHEMICAL POWDER
- CARBON DIOXIDE
- FOAM
- WATER
- WET CHEMICAL
- AUTOMATIC DRY POWDER
All types are available portable or trolley-mounted, the trolley type being used where the risk needs a larger charge than one person can carry — plant rooms, workshops, fuel stores and external compounds.
DRY CHEMICAL POWDER
The general-purpose extinguisher, effective on carbonaceous solids, flammable liquids and live electrical equipment. The powder breaks the chemical chain reaction of the flame and forms a crust over burning solids. It leaves a residue, so it is normally kept out of clean rooms, kitchens and areas holding sensitive equipment.
CARBON DIOXIDE
Discharges as a cold, non-conductive gas that displaces oxygen and leaves nothing behind. Used on live electrical equipment, switchrooms, server and comms rooms, laboratories and anywhere residue would do more damage than the fire. It has no lasting cooling effect on solids, so it is often paired with a water or foam unit.
FOAM
Blankets a burning liquid surface, sealing vapour in and air out, and cools carbonaceous materials. Suited to fuel and solvent stores, generator and pump rooms, car parks and loading bays.
WATER
The most effective agent on ordinary combustible solids — paper, textiles, timber, most plastics — working by cooling. Used in offices, schools, corridors, storage and residential areas. Not for use on live electrical equipment or cooking media.
WET CHEMICAL
Formulated for cooking oils and fats. The agent reacts with the hot oil to form a soapy layer that seals the surface and cools it below its auto-ignition temperature, preventing re-ignition. Sited in commercial kitchens alongside the fixed wet chemical suppression system over the appliance line.
AUTOMATIC DRY POWDER
A self-actuating unit mounted directly above an unattended risk — an electrical panel, a small plant enclosure, a generator canopy — that discharges on its own when heat reaches it, with no need for a person or a control panel. Used where a fire could start in a space nobody occupies.
FIRE BLANKETS
A woven fire-resistant blanket in a quick-release wall container, used to smother a small fire at its source or to wrap a person whose clothing has caught alight. Standard equipment in commercial and staff kitchens, laboratories, workshops and welfare areas, and the safest first response to a contained pan fire because it involves no discharge and no splashing of hot oil. STARCO supplies blankets in the sizes appropriate to the risk and mounts them where they can be reached without passing the hazard.
APPROVALS
Equipment supplied by STARCO is certified by Civil Defence and carries Kitemark, UL and FM listing, LPCB and Wheel Mark approval as applicable to the product.
TESTING AND REFILLING
Extinguishers are inspected, pressure-tested and refilled on a scheduled cycle as part of STARCO’s preventive maintenance package, with a certificate of testing issued on completion. Fire blankets are inspected on the same visit and replaced once used.