Dry powder fire extinguishers are the most common and versatile fire-fighting tools in daily life, widely installed in residential buildings, shopping malls, factories and vehicles. They rely on fine dry powder to cover burning substances, cut off the combustion chain and isolate oxygen to achieve rapid fire suppression, with the advantages of low cost and wide application range.

Standard ABC dry powder fire extinguishers can handle three major types of common fires. Firstly, they are effective for Class A solid fires, including fires of wood, paper, fabric, plastic and other solid combustible materials. Secondly, they can put out Class B liquid fires caused by flammable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene and edible oil. Thirdly, they are applicable to Class E live electrical fires of household electrical appliances, industrial electrical equipment and circuit lines.

However, dry powder fire extinguishers have obvious limitations. They cannot be used for special metal fires. In addition, the dry powder residue after fire suppression may pollute precision instruments, electronic equipment and food materials, so they are not recommended for fire scenes with high cleanliness requirements.