Safety reference
Fire classes & extinguisher colour codes in India
The Indian (BIS) fire classification and the extinguisher type and band colour for each — under IS 15683:2018 and IS 2190:2010.
Standards: IS 15683:2018 · IS 2190:2010 · NBC 2016 Part 4
In India the current scheme (aligned to BS EN3 via IS 15683) is a predominantly red body with a small coloured band or panel identifying the agent — this replaced the older all-body-colour scheme. A key India-specific point: Class C is flammable gases, not electrical (electrical fires are a special hazard, not a lettered class), and India uses Class F for cooking-oil fires (the US/NFPA term is Class K).
Fire classes
| Fire class | Fuel | Suitable extinguishers |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Solid combustible materials of organic nature — wood, paper, cloth, rubber, plastics, coal, textiles — where the cooling effect of water is essential for extinction (IS 2190:2010 / IS 15683:2018). | Water (jet/spray); Foam (AFFF); ABC dry chemical powder; Clean agent / halocarbon (smaller fires) |
| Class B | Flammable liquids or liquefiable solids — petrol, diesel, kerosene, oil, grease, paint, solvents, wax — where a blanketing (smothering) effect is essential (IS 2190:2010). | Foam (AFFF); CO2; ABC or BC dry chemical powder; Clean agent / halocarbon |
| Class C | Flammable GASES under pressure including liquefied gases — LPG, propane, butane, methane/natural gas, acetylene, hydrogen — where it is necessary to inhibit the burning gas. NOTE: In the Indian/BIS scheme Class C is GASES, not electrical (electrical is a separate special hazard, not a lettered class). This differs from the US/NFPA scheme where Class C = electrical. | Dry chemical powder (ABC or BC); CO2; Clean agent / halocarbon |
| Class D | Combustible metals — magnesium, aluminium, zinc, sodium, potassium, titanium, lithium and their alloys/swarf (IS 2190:2010 / IS 15683:2018). | Special Class-D dry powder (e.g. ternary eutectic chloride / graphite / sodium-chloride based, matched to the specific metal); Dry sand (manual) |
| Class F (cooking oils & fats) | Cooking media — vegetable and animal oils and fats in deep-fat fryers / commercial kitchens. India uses 'Class F' (the BS EN/ISO term); the equivalent US/NFPA term is 'Class K'. Confirmed: India = Class F, not Class K. | Wet chemical (potassium-based; saponifies the oil into a soap-like cooling/sealing blanket) |
| Electrical fires (special hazard — old suffix 'Class E') | Fires involving energised/live electrical equipment — wiring, panels, motors, transformers, appliances. In BIS this is NOT a separate lettered class; it is a special hazard overlaid on a Class A or B fire. The pre-revision Indian code used the suffix 'Class E' informally; IS 2190 treats it as a Class-C-rated / non-conductivity requirement. | CO2 (preferred — no residue, non-conductive); Dry chemical powder (ABC/BC); Clean agent / halocarbon |
Extinguisher types & colour codes
| Extinguisher | Agent | Rated for | Colour code (India, IS 15683) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water (gas-cartridge / stored-pressure) | Water (plain, or with wetting/anti-freeze additive); cools and soaks | A | Predominantly red body with a RED (signal red) band/panel — i.e. all-red, since red is also the base body colour |
| Foam (AFFF — aqueous film-forming foam) | AFFF foam concentrate + water; blankets and cools | A, B | Red body with a CREAM (pale yellow/off-white) band/panel |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) | Carbon dioxide gas; smothers/displaces oxygen, non-conductive, leaves no residue | B, C, Electrical | Red body with a BLACK band/panel |
| Dry chemical powder — ABC (multipurpose) | Mono-ammonium phosphate powder; interrupts the combustion chain and forms a smothering crust | A, B, C, Electrical | Red body with a BLUE band/panel |
| Dry chemical powder — BC | Sodium/potassium bicarbonate powder; chain-breaking, smothering | B, C, Electrical | Red body with a BLUE band/panel (same as ABC; agent stated on label) |
| Dry powder — special (Class D) | Metal-specific powder (ternary eutectic chloride / graphite / sodium chloride based) | D | Red body with a BLUE band/panel, labelled for the specific metal |
| Wet chemical | Potassium acetate / citrate / carbonate solution; saponifies oil into a cooling, sealing soap layer | F, A | Red body with a YELLOW (canary yellow) band/panel |
| Clean agent / halocarbon (gaseous) | Halocarbon clean agents (e.g. HFC-227ea / FK-5-1-12 / HCFC blends); chemical-chain suppression, non-conductive, residue-free | A, B, C, Electrical | Red body with a coloured band/panel per agent (commonly green or labelled 'Clean Agent'; not a single fixed BIS band colour) |
CONFIRMED: India's CURRENT scheme is the BS EN3-aligned 'predominantly RED body + small coloured band/panel per agent' system, adopted via IS 15683 — this REPLACED the older scheme where the entire body was a different colour per agent (e.g. blue body = dry powder, cream body = foam, black body = CO2, red body = water). Today every portable extinguisher in India has a fire-engine-red body, and a coloured band/rectangular panel (about 10-15 cm, roughly 5-15% of the surface) identifies the agent. Band colours: WATER = red (so the unit appears all-red), FOAM/AFFF = cream, CO2 = black, DRY CHEMICAL POWDER (ABC/BC and Class-D) = blue, WET CHEMICAL (Class F) = yellow/canary-yellow; clean-agent/halocarbon units carry an agent-specific band (often green or simply labelled 'Clean Agent', no single fixed BIS colour). IMPORTANT CLASS-C CAVEAT: in the Indian/BIS classification Class C = FLAMMABLE GASES (LPG, propane, hydrogen, methane), NOT electrical fires. Electrical fires are treated as a special hazard (old informal suffix 'Class E') requiring a non-conductive agent (CO2, dry powder or clean agent), not as a separate lettered class. India uses Class F (not the US/NFPA 'Class K') for cooking-oil/fat fires. (Note: the exact percentage band size and some agent-band colours can vary slightly between IS 15683 marking requirements and supplier practice — verify against the current IS 15683:2018 text and NBC 2016 Part 4 before publishing.)
Governing Indian standards
- IS 15683:2018 — Portable Fire Extinguishers: Performance and Construction — Specification (latest revision; defines fire classes A/B/C/D/F and the construction, performance, testing and marking/colour-identification of portable extinguishers). Earlier revisions: IS 15683:2006.
- IS 2190:2010 — Selection, Installation and Maintenance of First-Aid Fire Extinguishers — Code of Practice (Section 9 fire classification; specifies which extinguisher type for which class, sizing, distribution/travel distance, and the non-conductivity rule for energised electrical equipment).
- IS 2189:2008 — Selection, Installation and Maintenance of Automatic Fire Detection and Alarm System — Code of Practice (Fourth Revision) (detectors, manual call points, control & indicating panels, zoning).
- National Building Code of India (NBC) 2016, Part 4 — Fire and Life Safety (occupancy-based fire-protection requirements: extinguishers, detection/alarm, hydrants/sprinklers, means of escape; the overarching code that invokes the IS standards).
- IS 2878 — (historically referenced for CO2 extinguisher specification / identification colour panels; superseded for portable-extinguisher specification by IS 15683 but still cited in some Indian colour-coding literature).
- IS 933 / IS 940 / IS 10658 — earlier type-specific extinguisher specifications (chemical foam, water-CO2, ABC powder) now consolidated under IS 15683.
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