Best Fire Extinguishers

When we started researching the best fire extinguishers for our fire safety guide, we talked to Henrico County firefighter Sarah Hill. Right away, she recommended the Amerex brand. When asked why it was her top pick, she said, "Reliable. It's what we use."

We found that it's one of the most recommended fire extinguishers on the market, and its steel casing and aluminum valves make it durable enough to withstand a fire and be recharged for future use.

Here's more about Amerex and our other top picks for extinguishing a grease fire, electrical fire, fires with ordinary combustibles, and more.

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Reliable performance for A, B, C fires

The Amerex B402 is a dry chemical fire extinguisher certified for class A, B, and C fires, and it discharges for 14 seconds. One Amazon reviewer said that a home Amerex extinguisher that was last inspected in 1998 successfully put out a fire in his house in 2019.

While we don't recommend letting your fire extinguishers go without maintenance for that long, it's definitely proof that Amerex extinguishers are reliable.

Amerex fire extinguisher is powerful but messy

We chose the B402 for our recommendation because it contains a manageable amount of dry powder (five pounds), and the extinguisher's solid steel casing brings its weight up to nearly 10 pounds. It releases a forceful dry chemical cloud to swallow fires fast, but testers say that the cloud is also enough to swallow the person spraying it, driving them from the room. The spray also leaves a substantial mess behind.

Amerex extinguishers are fully rechargeable, which is nice, since they're the priciest fire extinguishers on our list. But we recommend double-checking the tamper seal and the pressure gauge if you buy your Amerex on Amazon, as Amazon customers report receiving recharged extinguishers with broken seals or without a full charge.

Good for extinguishing kitchen fires

This portable fire extinguisher is also nontoxic, and its extinguishing agent leaves a dry residue that you can wipe up easily. It's rated for class A, B, C, and K fires, so it's great to keep in the kitchen. You'll want to keep a bigger Class K fire extinguisher like the Amerex B260 in the kitchen too, just in case the EZ Fire Spray runs out before the fire goes out completely.

The First Alert EZ Fire Spray has been tested to the qualified performance requirements of UL 711, UL 711A and KOFEIC 0108 by an independent nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL). It's important to note, though, that this product isn't called a fire extinguisher. Instead, it's called an extinguishing spray.

Replace this spray after one use

We would recommend keeping this in your kitchen for small flare-ups, but keep a full-size fire extinguisher on hand too. Also, since this product doesn't have a gauge, be sure to only use it once and then replace it, and don't use it past its expiration date.

Rechargeable extinguisher

Despite its low price, the First Alert Standard Home Fire Extinguisher's extinguishing agent is still rated to handle most home fires, including fabric, wood, paper, flammable liquids, and electrical fires. It's rechargeable, but the cost of recharging is high enough and the cost of this extinguisher is low enough that it probably makes sense to just buy a new one after you use it.

Lightweight option

With its aluminum casing, it's not as sturdy as the Amerex, but it's lighter and a more portable extinguisher. It's a good choice if you have kids or older adults in your home who might not be able to lift a heavier extinguisher.

Expensive but extremely effective extinguisher

Although its price and size might make you think the Amerex B260 is only for commercial kitchens, every home cook should keep this extinguisher handy. The price is typical of Class K extinguishers of this size, and compared to the price of fire damage, this is really a great deal.

As we mentioned earlier, you can keep the First Alert Tundra on hand to nip a small grease fire in the bud, but keep the 6-liter Amerex B260 nearby just in case it blooms into a bigger fire.

To research the best fire extinguishers, we talked to a firefighter to learn from her experience which extinguishers were the most effective at putting out fires and which were most reliable long-term.

We also watched videos of different fire extinguishers in action, read more than 100 reviews from customers about their successes and failures using each extinguisher, and visited manufacturer websites for more information.

Our full methodology explains more about our methods for reviewing consumer products.

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