If there is a fire, and a fire extinguisher is in the room, will the heat cause it to explode?

Question

And if so, will it put out the fire?

Answer 1

It could, depending on the type of fire extinguisher. CO2 extinguishers have a safety relief valve that is supposed to relieve the pressure before the shell would give way. However, most smaller dry chemical units do not have this valve. In truth, I'd see the Gauge give way long before the shell would burst, but that's just my opinion.

Will it put out the fire?

Again, it depends on the agent. If it's a halongenated agent in a small enough space, it could have an impact on the fire. But most likely, as others have stated, the fire will probably be so big at that point, a little fire extinguisher will be like peeing on a wildfire.

Answer 2

Nope, it will not put out the fire - sorry. Fire extinguishers are designed to handle small fires, and are pressurized with propellant to make it safe to discharge to device without putting yourself in harms way.

If the temperature has reached a point at which the fire extinguisher has ruptured and exploded, then I'm afraid the fire will be too big for it to handle - it's curtains for that fire.

Answer 3

If it gets hot enough the contents in the closed container will heat up and expand and burst the extinguisher. If it's that hot, then there's a pretty big fire growing and the extinguisher ain't gonna do much good.

Answer 4

At the temperature needed for an extinguisher to combust, it'd be too late to put out that fire anyway!