Extinguisher type · Red all over
All-red fire extinguisher: Water
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’
Red: the same colour as the body, so a water extinguisher is red all over.
- Colour code
Water RED
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
- US classes named for it
- Class A
What the guidance says it is for
Water (red): for wood, paper, textile and solid material fires.
HM Government (GOV.UK), Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops (accessible version), Part 1, 3.4.2, Figure 8Water fire extinguishers are red and can be used for Class A fires, i.e. Solids only, such as wood, paper or fabrics. It works by cooling burning material.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Fire extinguishers (business fire safety guidance), ‘Water’
What the guidance says not to use it on
Do not use on liquid, electrical or metal fires.
HM Government (GOV.UK), Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops (accessible version), Part 1, 3.4.2, Figure 8 (water)It should not be used for kitchen fires, fires caused by flammable gas and liquids as well as fires that involve electrical equipment.
Surrey County Council (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service), Extinguishers and fire blankets, ‘Water Extinguishers’For example, a water jet extinguisher directed at the surface of burning cooking oil, will create an expulsion of the burning oil as the water is quickly converted into steam.
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.
Fires in paper, cloth, wood, rubber, and many plastics require a water type extinguisher labeled A.
US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), eTool: Evacuation Plans and Procedures, Portable Fire Extinguishers, Extinguisher Basics, Fire classesThese extinguishers are intended primarily for use on Class A fires.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Fire Extinguisher Types (NFPA Today blog, Brian O’Connor), ‘Water’
Not for, in US guidance
Never use water to extinguish flammable liquid fires.
US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), eTool: Evacuation Plans and Procedures, Portable Fire Extinguishers, Extinguisher Basics, Water (APW) extinguishersNever use water to extinguish an electrical fire.
US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), eTool: Evacuation Plans and Procedures, Portable Fire Extinguishers, Extinguisher Basics, Water (APW) extinguishers
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): Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops (accessible version) (updated 12 September 2023). Quoted here: Part 1, 3.4.2, Figure 8 (water); Part 1, 3.4.2, Figure 8. www.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- Surrey County Council (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service): Extinguishers and fire blankets (reviewed 24 August 2026). Quoted here: ‘Water Extinguishers’. www.surreycc.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- Fire Industry Association: Fact File 99: Class F Fires, Version 1 (October 2024). Quoted here: §3 Limitations of non-class F extinguishers. www.fia.uk.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- 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: §4.3, colour table. www.london-fire.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- Avon Fire & Rescue Service: Fire extinguishers (business fire safety guidance) (page last updated 29 February 2024). Quoted here: ‘Water’. www.avonfire.gov.uk Checked 2026-09-29.
- US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): eTool: Evacuation Plans and Procedures, Portable Fire Extinguishers, Extinguisher Basics (no date shown). Quoted here: Fire classes; Water (APW) extinguishers. www.osha.gov 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.