Enter the label as printed, in English or Russian. Below, an offered extinguisher can be checked against it: the agent, the rating in each class and the charge.
On a ship the extinguisher also needs marine type approval: for ships under an EU flag, approval under the Marine Equipment Directive, shown by the wheel mark; other flags follow their own administration. This is a reference for reading a label and writing an RFQ, not fire-safety advice: the ship’s fire plan, class and flag rules and the competent person decide what is carried.
On the label alone: marine type approval and the ship’s rules are checked separately.
A portable extinguisher label gives its agent, its charge and its EN 3-7 rating: 6 kg ABC powder 43A 233B C, 9 l foam 27A 183B, CO2 5 kg 113B. Enter it and the reader breaks it down part by part, explains the test fire behind each number, checks an offered extinguisher against the one wanted and writes an RFQ line.
This is a reference for reading a label and writing an RFQ, not fire-safety advice. The ship’s fire plan, class and flag rules and the competent person decide what is carried. On a ship the extinguisher also needs marine type approval.
The number before the letter is the size of the test fire the extinguisher put out under EN 3-7. For class A it is the length of a wooden crib in decimetres (13A: 1.3 m); for class B the litres of liquid in a round tray; for class F the litres of burning cooking oil. The bigger the number, the bigger the fire.
To EN 2: A solids, B liquids and solids that melt, C gases, D metals, F cooking oils and fats in kitchen appliances. C and D carry no number: EN 3-7 has no test fire for gases and no standard test fire for metals. Powder and CO2 extinguishers are not given a class F rating.
On a ship under an EU flag, a portable extinguisher required by SOLAS is type-approved under the Marine Equipment Directive and carries the wheel mark; other flags follow their own administration. A CE mark alone does not show this. How many extinguishers, and of which kind, is for the ship’s fire plan, class and flag rules and the competent person.
| Rating | Class | Test fire | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5A | A, solids | wooden crib | 0.5 m long |
| 8A | A, solids | wooden crib | 0.8 m long |
| 13A | A, solids | wooden crib | 1.3 m long |
| 21A | A, solids | wooden crib | 2.1 m long |
| 27A | A, solids | wooden crib | 2.7 m long |
| 34A | A, solids | wooden crib | 3.4 m long |
| 43A | A, solids | wooden crib | 4.3 m long |
| 55A | A, solids | wooden crib | 5.5 m long |
| 21B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 21 litres |
| 34B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 34 litres |
| 55B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 55 litres |
| 70B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 70 litres |
| 89B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 89 litres |
| 113B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 113 litres |
| 144B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 144 litres |
| 183B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 183 litres |
| 233B | B, liquids | liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray | 233 litres |
| 5F | F, cooking oils and fats | burning cooking oil | 5 litres |
| 25F | F, cooking oils and fats | burning cooking oil | 25 litres |
| 40F | F, cooking oils and fats | burning cooking oil | 40 litres |
| 75F | F, cooking oils and fats | burning cooking oil | 75 litres |
| C | C, gases | no test fire in EN 3-7 | — |
| D | D, metals | no standard test fire in EN 3-7 | — |
Every value is confirmed by two independent sources. Left out because the sources differ or only one gives it: the ratings 8B and 13B and any value outside the table; 15F; the minimum ratings EN 3-7 sets for each charge size; the water and fuel shares of the class B tray; which agents may claim class C; the minimum charges under the marine rules.
An article by a Polish State Fire Service officer in Bezpieczeństwo Pracy 4/2008 (CIOP-PIB) on the EN 3-7 test fires; the German workplace rule ASR A2.2, its table of extinguishing capacity; German Wikipedia, Feuerlöscher; the Fire Industry Association, Fact File 99 on class F fires; a UK fire safety supplier’s guides to ratings and to class F extinguishers; a summary of the scope of EN 3-7:2004+A1:2007; a fire safety service company’s guide to the fire classes; the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency instructions to surveyors, chapter 6; a marine extinguisher maker’s answers to common questions; the Boat Safety Scheme tech clinic, part 6. Every value is in at least two of them.
43A: it put out the class A test fire, a wooden crib 4.3 m long. 233B: it put out the class B test fire, 233 litres of liquid, fuel over water, in a round tray. C: it may be used on gas fires, a class with no test fire in EN 3-7 and so no number. The bigger the number, the bigger the test fire it put out.
EN 2 sorts fires by what burns: A solids such as wood, paper and textiles; B liquids and solids that melt; C gases; D metals; F cooking oils and fats in kitchen appliances. There is no class E. Only A, B and F carry a rating number on the label.
Yes. On a ship under an EU flag, a portable extinguisher required by SOLAS is type-approved under the Marine Equipment Directive and carries the wheel mark; other flags follow their own administration. A CE mark alone does not show this approval. This page reads a label for an RFQ and is not fire-safety advice: the ship’s fire plan, class and flag rules and the competent person decide what is carried.
The label as printed: the agent, the charge in kilograms or litres and the rating (for example 6 kg ABC powder 43A 233B C); the quantity; whether a marine type approval such as the wheel mark is needed; whether the order is for new extinguishers or for refills; and a photograph of the label.
A reading is a check of the label, not an extinguisher selection. Attach the photograph and say whether a marine type approval is needed, and Vessel Core checks them before an offer goes back.
