Class A: Suitable for combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics.
Class B: Required when the fire involves flammable or combustible liquids such as petrol, kerosene, grease, and oil.
Class C: Best-suited for fires involving electrical equipment such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers, and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires!
Class D: For fires involving chemicals and combustible metals such as magnesium, titanium, potassium, and sodium.
Class F: Designed for fires that involve cooking oils, trans-fats, or fats in cooking appliances that are typically found in restaurants.

To use the extinguisher effectively, use the four-step PASS technique:

• Pull the pin in the handle, this will break the tamper seal.

• Aim low, pointing the nozzle or hose at the base of the fire. Do not touch the horn on a CO2 extinguisher, it gets very cold and can damage the skin.

• Squeeze the handle/grip slowly to release the extinguishing agent.

• Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire, the fuel source, until the fire is out.

Attempting to put out a fire which is beyond your capabilities can prove very dangerous. Only tackle a fire in its very early stages and always ensure that you put your safety and that of others first.

If there is the slightest doubt or uncertainty about your ability to extinguish the fire, evacuate the building immediately and call the fire brigade.

If you cannot put out the fire or if the extinguisher becomes empty, evacuate yourself and everyone in the building immediately, closing all doors behind you as you go.

Do you know what to do when one of your employees gets injured on the job?
You might probably think that you will be liable for all the medical expenses.
Maybe you know that you need to complete an Employers report of accident form and send it to the doctor with the patient, but did you know you still have to report the incident?

Every employer with one or more employees are legally responsible to register with the compensation fund.  This is your insurance for any medical expenses that are incurred due to injuries on the job.  It also ensures that your employees can not put in a civil claim against you.  The fund will also pay employees for temporary and permanent disability.

If a person gets injured, you, the employer must complete an Employers Report of Accident (W.Cl. 2) form and send part B to the doctor or hospital with the patient.

This, however, is not the end of the story.  You as employer must send part A and the rest of the form to the compensation commissioner to report the claim.  It is an offence not to report an accident.

The employer must also pay the salary of the injured for the first 3 months, even if the employee is booked off.  You can claim this money back from the commissioner.

The injured employee must help you to obtain all the relevant medical reports which must be send to the compensation commissioner before the claim can be finalized.