ELI5 Fire Extinguishers - why are they red in color?

About this episode

This episode explains the color of fire extinguishers and discusses the implications of using the wrong type on different fires.

Why is most fire equipment red in color? What happens if you use the wrong class of extinguisher on a grease or metal fire? Could the future of firefighting be a "dubstep cannon" that uses sound waves to kill flames? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: jasonthefuzz, jebediah_johnson, rtpkickballer, audiblenod, markhunt1980, mpls_is_rivendell, dvn_rvthernot and dignitty. To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

People in this episode

Host: ELI5 Explain Like I'm Five Podcast

Topics covered

• fire extinguishers
• fire safety
• firefighting technology
• fire classes
• community questions

Keywords

• fire extinguishers
• red color
• fire safety
• grease fire
• metal fire
• dubstep cannon
• firefighting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: r/explainlikeimfive

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