Portable Fire Extinguishers Reduce Carbon Footprint of Building Fires

In 2023, the Fire Equipment Manufacturers’ Association’s Government Relations Committee (FEMA GRC) commissioned the respected fire protection engineering firm Jensen Hughes, to study the role of portable extinguishers in reducing the carbon footprint of a fire in a sprinklered building. The Jensen Hughes study, titled A Review of the Impact of Fire Extinguishers in Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Building Fires, found that portable fire extinguishers can further reduce fire related carbon emissions of a building, beyond the effectiveness of sprinklers on their own, by 93.6%. When used together, sprinklers and portable extinguishers, this results in a total reduction of fire related carbon emissions by 99%.