Extinguisher type · White body
White fire extinguisher: Water mist
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’
A white body, not a red one: London Fire Brigade names water mist as the one type with a white body.
- Colour code
Water mist fire extinguishers have a white body.
London Fire Brigade (London Fire Commissioner), Fire Safety Guidance Note GN08: Hand Held Portable Firefighting Equipment, Rev 20, §3.6- UK/EU classes named for it
- Class A, Class B, Class C, Electrical
- US classes named for it
- —
What the guidance says it is for
Water mist fire extinguishers have a white body. They can tackle a wide range of fires, including Class A, B, C, and electrical fires. They release a fine mist of water droplets which cools the fire, remove the heat, and creates a barrier between the flames and the extinguisher operator.
London Fire Brigade (London Fire Commissioner), Fire Safety Guidance Note GN08: Hand Held Portable Firefighting Equipment, Rev 20, §3.6Water mist extinguishers can have a Class F rating which work by cooling only.
Fire Industry Association, Fact File 99: Class F Fires, Version 1, §4 Class F extinguishers
What the guidance says not to use it on
The guidance on this page gives no list of fires a water mist extinguisher must not be used on, and the FIA says only that some ‘can have’ a Class F rating. The classes a particular one is rated for are printed on its own label.
In the US
US extinguishers are not colour-coded by agent; read the letters on the label.
Water mist extinguishers are a type of water fire extinguisher that uses distilled water and discharges it as a fine spray instead of a solid stream.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Fire Extinguisher Types (NFPA Today blog, Brian O’Connor), ‘Water’Typical applications include operating rooms, museums, and book collections.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Fire Extinguisher Types (NFPA Today blog, Brian O’Connor), ‘Water’
The label is the authority
Most modern fire extinguishers are simple to use and instructions on how to use it safely are written on the extinguisher itself.
HM Government (GOV.UK), A guide to making your small non-domestic premises safe from fire (accessible version), section ‘Fire extinguishers’
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.
- HM Government (GOV.UK): A guide to making your small non-domestic premises safe from fire (accessible version) (updated 20 January 2025). Quoted here: section ‘Fire extinguishers’. www.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- US Fire Administration (FEMA): Choosing and Using Fire Extinguishers (page last reviewed 1 April 2023). Quoted here: ‘Help people decide when to use a fire extinguisher’. www.usfa.fema.gov Checked 2026-09-29.
- London Fire Brigade (London Fire Commissioner): Fire Safety Guidance Note GN08: Hand Held Portable Firefighting Equipment, Rev 20 (January 2025). Quoted here: §3.6. www.london-fire.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- Fire Industry Association: Fact File 99: Class F Fires, Version 1 (October 2024). Quoted here: §4 Class F extinguishers. www.fia.uk.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): Fire Extinguisher Types (NFPA Today blog, Brian O’Connor) (2023). Quoted here: ‘Water’. www.nfpa.org Checked 2026-09-29.