A fire at home can be both devastating and deadly. However, with the right fire extinguisher close to hand, you may be able to safely tackle a small fire before it can do any serious damage.

If a fire has already taken hold, it’s always recommended you get everyone out of the building and call 999. Never take on a fire unless you’re absolutely sure it’s small enough for the extinguisher you have.

With that said, you may be wondering which fire extinguisher is best to have at home. And the answer is that it can vary room by room. Since all rooms contain different risks, you’ll want to be certain you have the extinguishing agent that is most effective and which is safe to use on the fire class you’re faced with (read more about the different fire classes here).

Here are our recommendations for areas of the home most commonly affected by fires.

Fire extinguishers for your home kitchen

Your kitchen is no doubt one of the busiest rooms in the home, with many meals prepared and good times shared there. But the kitchen is also the place where heat, flames and electricity are all present, making fire more likely to start here than anywhere else.

Cooking oil, grease and fat fires pose a different challenge to standard fires, as it’s difficult to extinguish without a wet chemical extinguisher. This specialist equipment allows you to spray the agent above the flames; this will then settle over the surface of the liquid that has caught alight. It seals the cooking fire, starving it of oxygen and cooling the mixture to reduce the chances of reignition.

Of course, with appliances and other materials such as linen and wood, it could be handy to have other extinguishers to hand. CO2 extinguishers are best for electrical fires, while a water or foam extinguisher is most effective on organic solids.

See all our kitchen fire extinguishers to buy online here.

Fire extinguishers for your home office

With more people than ever working from home, the office room has become a more prominent space. Important equipment such as printers, scanners, laptops, desk lamps and even smartphones – along with power adapters to deliver the necessary electricity – all add up to a significant fire risk if kept in this one room. 

With so many electrical risks, a CO2 extinguisher is going to be most effective at removing the risk of electrocution. However, you must be careful when using this extinguisher in confined spaces as it displaces oxygen and can quickly lead to asphyxiation. If your home office is too small and lacks proper ventilation, you may have to resort to a water mist unit instead.

If your home office is also the place you store textiles and paper in large quantities – either for a hobby or a business you run from home – then consider an extinguisher to tackle fires fuelled by organic materials.

Fire extinguishers for your garage or shed

The garage and shed are mostly a place for storing things we don’t often need. It can also act as a workshop for many people, which is where flammable liquids and gases are kept. Whether you have a garage, shed or both, it’s vital to have an extinguisher on hand to meet these risks.

For flammable liquids, we recommend a foam extinguisher, as this can be used to put out flames without spreading the liquid when sprayed above flames. We have a more extensive guide to this extinguisher type in our previous post. 

Alternatively, a powder extinguisher can be used on both flammable liquids and flammable gases, but you need to ensure it is not used while you or others are inside the garage or shed, as it could risk inhalation of the powder.

Other useful fire extinguishers at home

Most people will opt for water fire extinguishers at home since they’re effective against fires that take hold on furnishings and fittings. But you should also consider powder or foam extinguishers, as they can be used on multiple fire types, avoiding the need to keep several extinguishers on hand at all times.

You can find more safety products and fire extinguishers for homes and domestic premises in our range online. Browse and shop online today for the easy way to get all the fire safety equipment you need. We’ll provide fast, free delivery in the UK to ensure you get high-quality fire extinguishers for your home.