How do you put out an electrical fire?

Question

My hair dryer caught on fire in my hand yesterday. Literally, flames were coming out of either side of it. I unplugged it and threw it in the tub, watered it until the fire went out.

My fiance said that was not a good idea, but had no idea how to put out an electrical fire. So what do you do?

Answer 1

1. Dry chemical fire extinguisher

2. CO2 fire extinguisher

3. sand

4. baking soda

5. run like crazy, call 911

jk on #5 there....

I feel you did a very smart thing, and congrats on having a cool head, remembering to unplug it!

Our house buned to the ground in 1971, there's three fire extinguishers now.

Answer 2

you did right by unpluging it first. what did he say you did wrong un plug it maybe he has plans for you wink,

Answer 3

Yes please don't use water to put out an electrical fire... EVER.  Since you unplugged it, it technically wasn't an electrical fire... it was a class A fire at that point.  Tell your fiance you were right and to get over it.

Best thing everyone in this world can do for this scenario is have a good-quality ABC fire extinguisher in their homes.  

Class A fires are regular wood, paper, etc.  Water is fine for these.

Class B fires are flamable liquids and gasses.  Water is generally bad for these, as it can cause the fuel to spread out and actually make the fire worse.

Class C fires are electrically energized fires.  You don't want to put water and electricity together.  You could be killed.

Short answer to your question... in absence of a good fire extinguisher, you could probably get away with UNPLUGGING your hair dryer and putting it in a big metal pan with a snug lid.  Could also set it out on the concrete driveway where it won't hurt anything.  These are of course alternatives to what you did, which was perfectly acceptable.

Answer 4

By unplugging the dryer, you did the best thing you could do! Hopefully you turned the water on before putting it down. By putting it under water, you immediately cooled and extinguished the fire. The water was contained in the tub or just went down the drain. The damage was limited to the dryer! The key word "UNPLUGGED first! You could have taken it outside. But you did very well! There are better things to extinguish electrical fires, however they are for use on energized electrical appliances. I only wish others would think as fast and as well as you did!!