DeKALB | Students who have noticed select fire extinguishers on the first floor of DuSable Hall seem to not have been serviced since the 1970s need not worry.

Although the main goal of all fire extinguishers is the same, not all extinguishers are created equal.

The large silver canisters dated from the ’70s are water extinguishers, while the small red canisters contain a compound known as ABC chemical. DuSable is equipped with both water and ABC extinguishers.

“The [water extinguishers are] basically two-and-a-half gallon water containers that you add pressure to, and water comes up when you use them,” said Scott Love, assistant fire chief at the DeKalb Fire Department.

The water canisters, although it appears as though they haven’t been checked and serviced for safety purposes since the late ’70s, are up to date.

“Everything has to be checked every year,” said a representative from Fox Valley Fire and Safety, the company that provides and services NIU’s fire extinguishers. “Everything has to be inspected.”

The representative said the fire extinguishers “are tagged with the year and the month punched on them” when they are serviced.

The water extinguishers were checked Jan. 12 of this year, said the representative from Fox Valley Fire and Safety.

Water extinguishers also have to go through hydrostatic testing to check the pressure and inner seal every five years. The extinguishers in DuSable went through hydrostatic testing Feb. 11, 2004, said the Fox Valley Fire and Safety representative. Where fires are concerned, many may believe a fire extinguisher is just that: a method of dousing flames.

But what many may not know is that there are differences between certain fire extinguishers, and using the wrong extinguisher on a fire could be deadly.

Similar to natural disasters, fires can be classified based on type. Fire-extinguisher101.com lists the different classes of fires as well as the causes and special recommended precautions for each type of fire.

Class A fires are formed with basic combustible materials such as wood or paper.

Class B fires are formed by the incorporation of a flammable material like gasoline. Electrical fires are classified as Class C, and combustible metals create Class D fires.

Assistant fire chief at the DeKalb Fire Department, Scott Love recommends always keeping an ABC chemical fire extinguisher – one that can put out all three fire types – nearby.

Love recommends the ABC extinguishers over water extinguishers because they are easier to use in the event of an emergency.

“My recommendation is that every extinguisher available to the public should be an ABC extinguisher,” Love said. “The water extinguishers are only useful on Class A fires, not B or C.”

Love also said ABC extinguishers are a better investment.