Website review
This review may include AI-generated content and is not individually verified. Domain, certificate and other facts come from the observed data on this page.
What is Strike First?
Strike First is a North American manufacturer of portable fire extinguishers, based in Scarborough, Ontario, and serving commercial, industrial, institutional and residential buyers. Its site presents the company as a long-established supplier — "dedicated to our customers since 1908" — and emphasizes North American design and manufacturing, with warranties of up to six years depending on model and type. The brand promise on the page is reliability when "seconds count," aimed at customers who prioritize dependable fire protection over the cheapest option.
Strike First
What the product range covers
The catalogue is organized by extinguishing agent and size, which is the practical way most buyers shop:
- ABC dry chemical — the multi-purpose choice for ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and electrical equipment; listed in sizes from 2 lb up to 30 lb.
- BC dry chemical — for flammable liquids and electrical fires only; listed from 2.75 lb to 20 lb.
- CO2 carbon dioxide — a residue-free option often chosen around sensitive electronics; listed at 5, 10, 15 and 20 lb.
- Water and water mist — listed at 2.4 Gal. (9L).
- Wet chemical — listed at 6L, the typical class for kitchen cooking-oil hazards.
- Automatic heat-actuated units — 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 lb, for unoccupied or unattended risk areas.
- Accessories — mounting brackets, an extinguisher cart, and all-weather plastic cabinets in 5, 10 and 20 lb sizes.
Who it suits
A facilities manager equipping a mixed-use building can standardize on ABC dry chemical for general coverage, add CO2 near server rooms or lab equipment, and place wet chemical units in commercial kitchens. An industrial buyer with a specific hazard class can match the agent directly rather than defaulting to a general-purpose unit.
A useful next step
Before ordering, confirm two things: the fire class (or classes) present in each area, and the local code or insurer requirement for minimum size and travel distance. Then use the site's product sheets, SDS documents, manuals and catalogues to verify the exact model, bracket compatibility and warranty term for the sizes you need. If you are unsure which agent fits a given room, contact the company directly — the page lists a phone line, a toll-free number and email — and describe the hazard rather than just the square footage.
Which Strike First fire extinguisher type should I choose for a kitchen grease fire?
For a kitchen grease fire, choose a wet chemical extinguisher. Strike First lists a 6L wet chemical model, and that agent is designed for cooking oils and fats. It cools the burning oil and forms a soap-like layer that helps prevent re-ignition, which is the key risk with grease.
Do not default to the ABC dry chemical units or CO2 units for a deep fryer or pan of oil. ABC dry chemical is the general-purpose choice for ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and electrical equipment, but it can splash burning grease and does not saponify it. CO2 is useful for electrical equipment and clean-agent situations, not for cooking oil.
Quick comparison
| Option | Best for | Kitchen grease fire? |
|---|---|---|
| Wet chemical 6L | Commercial cooking oils and fats | Yes — the intended choice |
| ABC dry chemical | General commercial, industrial, institutional and residential use | Not ideal; risk of splash and re-ignition |
| BC dry chemical | Flammable liquids and gases | Not ideal for cooking oil |
| CO2 | Electrical equipment and clean-agent needs | No |
| Water / water mist | Ordinary combustibles | No — dangerous on oil |
Practical next step
Check the actual hazard before buying: a small home kitchen pan fire is usually handled by covering the pan and turning off the heat, with a wet chemical or BC-rated extinguisher nearby. A commercial deep fryer or range hood system is a different scale and may need a fixed suppression system plus a portable wet chemical unit as backup.
Also confirm the extinguisher's classification and size against your local fire code and insurance requirements. Strike First's page lists product sheets, manuals and SDS documents under Resources, which is where you can verify the agent, model and intended application rather than relying on the category name alone. For a commercial kitchen, ask your fire protection supplier to match the extinguisher to the appliance and cooking volume; for a home kitchen, a smaller wet chemical or BC-rated unit is easier to store and use.
What size fire extinguisher do I need for my home or business?
Choose the extinguisher by the fire class and the room's worst-case fire, not by a single "best size." For most homes, a 5 lb ABC dry chemical unit is the practical all-rounder; for businesses, match the size to the hazard and to what local fire codes require.
Strike First's page groups its ABC dry chemical extinguishers at 2 lb, 2.5 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb, 20 lb and 30 lb, with BC dry chemical from 2.75 lb to 20 lb, CO2 from 5 lb to 20 lb, water and water mist at 2.4 gal (9 L), and wet chemical at 6 L. Those listed capacities are the manufacturer's product range, not a recommendation for your specific space. Strike First
Home: start with the kitchen and the garage
- Kitchen: a small ABC or a wet chemical unit for cooking-oil fires. A 2–5 lb ABC is easy to grab; wet chemical is the purpose-built choice for commercial-style deep fryers.
- Garage, workshop, car: 5 lb ABC covers ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and energized electrical equipment.
- Bedrooms and living areas: a 2.5–5 lb ABC near an exit, so you can discharge it while keeping a way out.
- Whole-home baseline: one 5 lb ABC per floor, plus one in the kitchen and one in the garage. Larger homes or those with a workshop may justify a 10 lb unit.
Business: size follows the hazard
- Offices, retail, schools, clinics: 5–10 lb ABC units placed along escape routes; CO2 or clean-agent types where residue would damage electronics.
- Commercial kitchens: wet chemical (the page lists 6 L) sized to the cooking appliance and hood system, not a portable ABC.
- Flammable-liquid storage, garages, industrial rooms: larger ABC or BC units, often 10–20 lb, plus automatic heat-actuated units for unattended spaces.
- Server rooms and labs: CO2 (5–20 lb listed) leaves no powder residue, but has a short discharge and no cooling effect, so it suits small, contained risks.
- Vehicle or site coverage: the page lists an extinguisher cart, useful where you need to move suppression to the hazard.
Quick comparison
| Situation | Practical type | Typical listed size |
|---|---|---|
| Home kitchen | ABC or wet chemical | 2–5 lb / 6 L |
| Home garage or car | ABC | 5 lb |
| Office or retail | ABC | 5–10 lb |
| Electronics or server room | CO2 | 5–10 lb |
| Commercial cooking | Wet chemical | 6 L |
| Unattended hazard | Automatic heat actuated | 2.5–20 lb |
What actually decides the size
- Fire class: A (ordinary materials), B (flammable liquids), C (electrical) or K (cooking oils). ABC covers the most common mix.
- Travel distance and mounting: a bigger unit is useless if it is far from the hazard or too heavy to lift. Check bracket ratings (the page lists UP2, UB5, UP5HD, UP10 and HDVB series) and place units near exits.
- Discharge time and weight: larger units last longer but are harder to handle; smaller units are quicker to deploy but empty fast.
- Local requirements: many jurisdictions set minimum ratings and placement for commercial premises. Confirm with your fire authority or insurer before buying.
- Environment: all-weather plastic cabinets (listed at 5, 10 and 20 lb) suit outdoor or dusty sites.
Next step: identify the fire class in each room, note the nearest exit, then pick the smallest unit that still meets the hazard and any code requirement. A 5 lb ABC in the kitchen and another in the garage is a sensible home starting point; for a business, have your fire-safety provider or authority confirm the required rating and spacing.
How do I maintain or recharge a Strike First fire extinguisher?
Maintenance and recharging are two different jobs, and for Strike First extinguishers the practical answer depends on the extinguisher type. Strike First's own product pages list ABC dry chemical, BC dry chemical, CO2, water, water mist, wet chemical, and automatic heat-actuated models, plus brackets and all-weather cabinets, but they do not publish a recharge or maintenance manual on the page. The manuals and product sheets are listed under the site's Resources section, so that is where model-specific service instructions live.
For a reader scenario: a facility manager with a 10 lb ABC dry chemical unit in a warehouse and a 5 lb CO2 unit near a server room cannot treat them the same way. The ABC unit is a stored-pressure dry chemical extinguisher; the CO2 unit is a high-pressure cylinder with different handling, valve and hydrostatic test considerations.
H3 What you can reasonably do yourself
- Visual checks: confirm the extinguisher is in its designated place, unobstructed, with the seal or tamper indicator intact and the pressure gauge needle in the operable range (on gauge-equipped models).
- Physical condition: look for corrosion, dents, damaged hoses, cracked handles, or a blocked nozzle.
- Weight and contents check: for non-gauge models such as CO2, weighing is the practical way to confirm it has not lost charge.
- Record keeping: log the inspection date and any defect, and tag the unit out of service if it fails a check.
H3 What requires a qualified service provider
- Recharging after any discharge, even a partial one, and after any use or tampering.
- Annual maintenance and the required internal examination, which involves opening the valve, inspecting the interior, and replacing parts such as seals and O-rings.
- Hydrostatic testing at the interval specified for the cylinder type and model.
- CO2 and wet chemical units, which involve specific media, fill procedures and pressure considerations.
H3 A simple decision table
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Monthly or periodic visual check | Do it in-house using the checklist above |
| Seal broken, gauge out of range, or obvious damage | Remove from service and call a qualified servicer |
| Unit was discharged, even briefly | Full recharge by a qualified servicer; do not just refill and reuse |
| Annual service due | Qualified servicer performs maintenance and internal exam |
| Hydrostatic test date reached | Qualified servicer performs the test or replaces the unit |
H3 Practical next step Find your model and capacity in Strike First's product list, then open the matching product sheet or manual under Resources on Strike First. That document will give the exact recharge media, parts and test intervals for your unit. If you cannot find it, call the contact number published on the site and ask for the manual for your model and capacity before anyone opens the valve.
A useful decision criterion: if the question is "is it still there and does it look right," you can handle it. If the question is "does it still contain the right amount of the right agent at the right pressure," hand it to a qualified service provider.
What bracket or cabinet fits my Strike First extinguisher model?
Strike First sells brackets and cabinets as separate accessory categories, so the fit depends on two things: the extinguisher's weight/size class and its valve/cylinder design. The product range groups brackets by model code (UP2, UP2-DB, UB5, UB5-DB, UP5HD, UP10-MD, HDVB-1 through HDVB-4) and cabinets by capacity (5 lb, 10 lb, 20 lb), which suggests matching is done by size class rather than by one universal mount.
How to match a bracket
- Small dry chemical units (2–2.5 lb): the lightest bracket codes, typically the UP2 family, are the starting point.
- Mid-size units (5 lb): codes like UB5, UB5-DB and UP5HD appear in this band; the "-DB" variants usually denote a different mounting configuration (for example, a double-strap or vehicle-style bracket) rather than a different extinguisher size.
- 10 lb and larger: UP10-MD and the HDVB series are the heavy-duty options, which makes sense because a 10–20 lb cylinder needs more support than a 2 lb unit.
- Automatic heat-actuated units: these are listed in 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 lb sizes, so bracket selection follows the same size logic, but confirm the mounting orientation because these are often fixed in place rather than carried.
Cabinets
The all-weather plastic cabinets come in 5 lb, 10 lb and 20 lb capacities. Choose the cabinet that matches your extinguisher's nominal weight, then check that the internal dimensions clear the valve, gauge and hose. A 5 lb ABC dry chemical unit and a 5 lb CO2 unit are not the same physical shape, so weight alone is not always enough.
A practical decision path
- Identify the extinguisher's agent type and nominal size from its label.
- Note the cylinder diameter and valve/handle style.
- Pick the bracket code or cabinet capacity that covers that size.
- Verify the bracket is rated for the weight and, if it is going in a vehicle or on a wall in a wet area, that the finish suits the environment.
If your model is not clearly covered by the size bands above, the fastest route is to contact Strike First directly with the model number and cylinder dimensions. The company lists phone, toll-free and email contact details and states it has been serving customers since 1908, so a direct fit confirmation is reasonable for anything unusual. For general background on matching extinguishers to hazards, see NFPA and UL Solutions.
Are Strike First extinguishers suitable for commercial and industrial use?
Yes. Strike First explicitly builds its extinguishers for commercial, industrial, institutional and residential applications, and the product range is organized around the choices a facility actually has to make — the fire class, the size of the hazard, and whether the unit must work without anyone present.
Why the range fits commercial and industrial settings
The catalogue covers the main agent types used in workplaces rather than a single consumer model:
- ABC dry chemical — the general-purpose choice for offices, warehouses, shops and mixed-risk buildings where Class A, B and C fires are all possible.
- BC dry chemical — for flammable liquid and gas risks without ordinary combustibles as the primary hazard.
- CO2 — typically chosen where residue would damage equipment or where clean agent discharge matters, such as electrical or machinery areas.
- Water and water mist — for Class A risks; water mist suits spaces where water damage or weight is a concern.
- Wet chemical — the specialist option for cooking oil and fat fires in commercial kitchens.
- Automatic heat actuated units — these discharge on their own when heat triggers them, which matters in unoccupied or remotely monitored areas.
- Brackets, carts and all-weather plastic cabinets — mounting, transport and outdoor or damp-location protection.
How to decide for your site
Match the agent to the hazard first, then the size to the risk. A small office rarely needs more than a correctly placed ABC unit; a paint store, kitchen or server room needs a different agent entirely. Automatic heat-actuated models are the practical answer where no one is present to use a manual extinguisher, and cabinets or carts solve placement problems in yards, vehicles and wash-down areas.
Two practical next steps: confirm the required fire class and minimum rating with your local fire code or insurer before ordering, and check the warranty term for the specific model, since Strike First states coverage of up to six years depending on model and type. For comparison against other North American manufacturers, see Strike First and Badger Fire or Amerex Fire; these are useful reference points for agent types and bracket options.
User reviews (0)