Quick answers
What are fire classes A, B, C, D and F in India?
Class A is ordinary solids such as wood and paper, B is flammable liquids, C is flammable gases under pressure such as LPG, D is burning metals and F is cooking oils and fats.
Is an electrical fire Class C in India?
No. That is the US system. In India, Class C means flammable gas under pressure. Live electrical equipment is an extra shock hazard: switch off the power if you can do it safely and use only an extinguisher marked as suitable for electrical equipment.
Can I choose firefighting PPE from the fire class alone?
No. The class mainly helps you pick the extinguisher. The chemical involved, the building, the space, ventilation, weather and the job the responder has to do all decide the protective kit.
What should an ordinary person do in a fire?
Get out, shut doors behind you if you can, warn others and call 112. Use an extinguisher only on a small fire, if you are trained and the exit is behind you. Owning protective clothing does not make it safe to go in.
A burning waste-paper bin, a diesel spill on fire, an LPG cylinder leaking flame and a kadhai of burning oil are all “fires”, but they are very different jobs. What is burning decides how the fire behaves, what can put it out, and what a responder needs to wear to get close safely.
This page is for fire teams, industrial safety staff and anyone who buys protective equipment. If you are a member of the public, your job in a fire is simple: get out, warn others and call 112 or 101. Owning protective clothing does not make it safe to go in.
Fire classes in India
Under BIS IS 2190:2024, fires in India are grouped by what is burning:
- Class A: ordinary solids such as wood, paper, cloth, rubber and many plastics.
- Class B: flammable liquids, or solids that melt into liquids, such as petrol, diesel, oil, paint thinner and wax.
- Class C: flammable gases under pressure, such as LPG.
- Class D: burning metals such as magnesium, titanium and sodium.
- Class F: cooking oils and fats.
American charts call electrical fires “Class C”. That is not the Indian system. In India, live electrical equipment is not a fire class of its own. It is an extra danger, electric shock, on top of whatever is burning.
The fire class mainly tells you which extinguisher to use. It does not tell you how hot the fire is, how toxic the smoke is, or whether anyone should go near it. PPE has to be chosen for the whole situation, not just the letter on the sign. To match an extinguisher to the fire in front of you, our fire extinguisher chooser is a quick way to do it.
Class A: ordinary solids
Wood, paper, cloth and plastics. Water or water-based extinguishers work on these fires. A small bin fire and a fully burning room are both Class A, but the room fire gives off killing heat and smoke.
- Fire-resistant clothing against heat and flame.
- Heat-resistant gloves for handling hot material and equipment.
- Breathing apparatus for anyone working inside a smoke-filled building. Clothing and gloves alone are not enough there.
Class B: flammable liquids
Petrol, diesel, oil, paint thinner and wax. These fires spread fast, give off intense heat, and the burning liquid can flow and splash.
- Flame-resistant clothing against heat and splashes.
- Heat-resistant gloves.
- Eye protection against splashes.
- Breathing protection. Smoke from burning liquids is toxic. Anyone who has to work in it needs positive-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Filter masks do not supply oxygen and do not stop gases such as carbon monoxide.
Class C: flammable gases, and live electrical equipment
In India, Class C means gas under pressure, such as LPG. Do not put out a gas flame unless the gas supply can be shut off safely. If the flame goes out and the gas keeps coming, it can build up and explode.
Live electrical equipment can be part of any fire. Switch off the power at the mains if you can do it safely, and never use water on live equipment.
- Non-conductive gloves, boots and other gear to cut the risk of electric shock. These do not make it safe to fight a fire on live equipment. The power still has to be isolated.
- Flame-resistant clothing against the heat.
Class D: burning metals
Magnesium, titanium, sodium and similar metals need special extinguishing agents and methods. Some of them react violently with water, carbon dioxide or ordinary dry powder.
- Specialised PPE chosen for the exact metal. Take advice from specialists or the material’s safety data sheet.
Class F: cooking oils and fats
Kitchen fires in oil and fat. The oil stays very hot, can catch fire again after the flames go out, and splashes violently if water touches it.
- Flame-resistant clothing against heat and splashes.
- Heat-resistant gloves.
- Eye protection against splashes.
- Do not stay in the smoke. Filter masks do not supply oxygen or stop carbon monoxide. Only trained responders with positive-pressure SCBA should work in smoke.
When there is more than one hazard
Many real fires mix hazards: toxic gases, high heat and live electricity together, or batteries that can burn, give off gas and re-ignite. In these cases the protective kit has to cover every hazard present, and the decision belongs to a trained officer in charge, not to whoever reaches the fire first.
Forest and grass fires
Forest and grass fires bring smoke, ash, falling branches and long hours in the heat.
- Fire-resistant clothing designed for this work, lighter than building firefighting gear.
- Eye protection against smoke, ash and flying debris.
- Breathing protection. Particle masks such as N95s cut down smoke particles and ash only. They do not stop carbon monoxide and do not supply oxygen, so move away from heavy smoke.
- Sturdy, fire-resistant boots against hot ground.
Before the next fire
If you look after safety at a workplace, take down any chart that calls Class C an electrical fire and put up the BIS A, B, C, D and F classes. Check that each extinguisher is marked for the hazard next to it. Then ask the harder question: if a fire grows past a small one, who decides that everyone leaves, and does every person on the shift know that it is them?
What needs attention
- The older article used the US idea of 'Class C electrical fire'; BIS IS 2190:2024 defines Class C as flammable gas under pressure
- In India, live electrical equipment is an extra condition that needs an extinguisher tested for it; once the power is off, classify what is actually burning
- The class letter describes the fuel, not whether it is safe for a responder to go in
- A bin fire and a fully burning room are both Class A but have completely different heat, smoke and collapse risks
- 'Fire-resistant clothing and gloves' is not enough for firefighting inside a building, because the smoke can kill long before the heat does
- No general respirator can be recommended for burning liquids, oils or forest smoke without knowing the air, the contaminant and the job
- A burning gas jet may be stopping an unburnt gas cloud from forming; shut off the fuel under trained command rather than rushing to put out the flame
- Class D agents must match the exact metal; some metals react with water, CO2 or ordinary powder
- Burning oil stays hot enough to re-ignite, and water makes it erupt into steam and spread
- Rubber gloves and boots alone do not make it safe to fight a fire on live equipment; isolation and safe distances still matter
- Lithium-ion battery fires do not fit one class, because electrical energy, thermal runaway, toxic gases and re-ignition can all happen together
- Forest-fire kit is built to be lighter and cooler than building firefighting gear; neither can replace the other
- Chemical fires may need protection against specific vapours and liquids, beyond normal firefighting gear
- Choosing the extinguisher, choosing the PPE and choosing the tactics are three separate decisions that must fit together
Controls that reduce risk
- Take down any training chart in India that calls electrical fires Class C
- Put up the BIS A, B, C, D and F definitions next to extinguisher information
- Add a separate warning and power-isolation step for live electrical equipment
- List where flammable liquids, gases, metals, cooking oils and batteries are kept
- Check that each extinguisher is rated and marked under IS 2190:2024 for the hazard beside it
- Get qualified advice for pressurised fuel, reactive metals, solvents, batteries and chemicals
- Make a PPE chart for each hazard instead of one kit for every fire
- Make sure building firefighters have matched gear, SCBA, PASS alarms, radios and training in air management
- Mark gas, fuel and power shut-off points that can be reached from a safe place
- Label the special agent for each metal and keep the wrong extinguishers away from that area
- Train kitchen staff never to throw water on burning oil or carry a burning pan
- Set battery procedures for isolation, cooling and watching, evacuation and re-ignition, with a competent specialist
- Plan cleaning of contaminated gear and control of dirty fire water before an incident
- Practise the moment when a small-fire attempt is dropped and everyone leaves
- After every incident, review the fire class, the extra hazards, the PPE and the agent used
Common unsafe practices
- Calling an electrical fire 'Class C' in India
- Choosing PPE from the class letter alone
- Sending untrained staff towards a growing fire because there are extinguishers and gloves around
- Going into smoke with a filter mask instead of SCBA
- Treating building firefighting gear as protection against chemicals, electricity, metals or forest fires
- Using water on live equipment before the power is isolated
- Throwing water on burning cooking oil
- Using water, CO2 or ordinary ABC powder on a burning metal without specific approval
- Putting out a gas flame with no safe plan to shut off the gas
- Standing in front of a heated, leaking or fire-exposed cylinder
- Going near a solvent or fuel fire without thinking about vapour travelling and flashing back
- Assuming a battery fire is just an electrical fire once the charger is unplugged
- Taking off SCBA during clean-up just because the flames are gone
- Ignoring dirty fire water and contaminated gear after the fire
- Going back in after the fire looks out, without air checks or permission
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