How to Use Fire Extinguishers Correctly: Think P.A.S.S. - East Idaho News
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How to Use Fire Extinguishers Correctly: Think P.A.S.S.

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abc leamy fire drill nt 120709 wg?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1341920679593Sarah Netter/ABC News(NEW YORK) — When Kerri Braun was asked to attend a demonstration on family fire drills recently in Mahwah, N.J., she got quite a surprise when she was given a fire extinguisher and told to put out a blaze right behind her.

It took Braun, 35, of Highland Falls, N.Y., 10 seconds to pull the pin on her fire extinguisher, long enough for a single burning piece of furniture to become an inferno.

“I always thought it [an extinguisher] would be easy to use and it’s not as easy as you think,” she told ABC News.

World News invited homeowners to the Bergen County, N.J., Law and Public Safety Institute to see whether they could figure out how to use a fire extinguisher under pressure.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 3,500 Americans die each year in fires and approximately 18,300 are injured.  The agency says that even though a fire extinguisher in the hands of a trained adult can save lives, a majority do not know how to use them.

Dana White, 40, of Waldwick, N.J., said that she learned an important lesson from the experiment: Fire extinguishers are only for small fires that are just starting.  Experts say that when faced with bigger fires, people should simply flee.

During her test, Vincenette Anello, 31, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., stood too far away from the flames for the extinguisher to do any good.

She said she learned to “just get out. Get out!”

Firefighters told ABC News that too often they see tragedies because homeowners don’t know how to use extinguishers — even when they have them in the house.

“Fire doubles every 60 seconds,” said Chief Larry Rausch, the Bergen County fire-safety program coordinator.  “So the longer it’s delayed, the worse the fire is going to be.”

To use a fire extinguisher correctly, experts say that one should remember the acronym P.A.S.S.:

P: Pull the pin.
A: Aim at the base of the fire.
S: Squeeze the trigger.
S: Sweep side to side.

But they say the most important lesson of all is when not to try using an extinguisher.  The devices are only meant for small fires in their very beginning stages.  Anything bigger, you should get out while you can and call 911.

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