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Extinguisher type · Cream band

Cream fire extinguisher: Foam

First: raise the alarm, get out, call the fire service

UK: However, if in doubt, employees should not put themselves or anyone else at risk, but simply raise the alarm, leave the premises, and call the fire and rescue service. HM Government (GOV.UK), A guide to making your small non-domestic premises safe from fire (accessible version), section ‘Fire extinguishers’

US: If you're unsure about whether it is safe to use a fire extinguisher, and for all other situations, alert others, leave the building, and call 911 from a mobile or neighbor's phone. US Fire Administration (FEMA), Choosing and Using Fire Extinguishers, ‘Help people decide when to use a fire extinguisher’

Pale cream band on a red body.

Colour code
Foam PALE CREAM London Fire Brigade (London Fire Commissioner), Fire Safety Guidance Note GN08: Hand Held Portable Firefighting Equipment, Rev 20, §4.3, colour table
UK/EU classes named for it
Class A, Class B
US classes named for it
Class A, Class B

What the guidance says it is for

  • Foam fire extinguishers are cream and are more versatile than water. They can be used for Class A and B fires, but is not recommended for fires involving electricity. Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Fire extinguishers (business fire safety guidance), ‘Foam’
  • Foam extinguishers are the most common type of fire extinguishers used for Class B fires. They are water-based which means that they can also be used for class A fires. The label is cream coloured. Surrey County Council (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service), Extinguishers and fire blankets, ‘Foam Extinguishers’

What the guidance says not to use it on

  • Do not use on electrical or metal fires. HM Government (GOV.UK), Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops (accessible version), Part 1, 3.4.2, Figure 8 (foam)
  • This type of fire extinguisher should not be used for fires caused by flammable metals, kitchen fires and fires that involve electrical equipment. Surrey County Council (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service), Extinguishers and fire blankets, ‘Foam Extinguishers’
  • Conventional foam extinguishers have been proven to extinguish the flame, but the heat involved quickly destroys the foam blanket, exposing the surface of the oil, allowing re-ignition. Fire Industry Association, Fact File 99: Class F Fires, Version 1, §3 Limitations of non-class F extinguishers

In the US

US extinguishers are not colour-coded by agent; read the letters on the label.

Not for, in US guidance

Also worth knowing

  • One official source disagrees on the colour. The GOV.UK offices and shops guide’s Figure 8 labels foam ‘Foam (yellow): for use on liquid fires.’ The London Fire Brigade table and the Avon and Surrey fire services all give cream, and yellow is the wet chemical colour. On a current extinguisher, cream means foam.
  • Manufacturers have begun to replace foam in foam extinguishers with fluorine-free foam. London Fire Brigade (London Fire Commissioner), Fire Safety Guidance Note GN08: Hand Held Portable Firefighting Equipment, Rev 20, §3.7

The label is the authority

Other colours

Sources

Official guidance only: UK government, UK fire and rescue services, the Fire Industry Association, NFPA, OSHA and the US Fire Administration. Words in quotation marks are theirs.