A 5-A rating extinguisher provides protection for how many square feet?

• A. 10,000
• B. 15,000
• C. 20,000
• D. 25,000

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that the A rating on a fire extinguisher represents the amount of area, in square feet, that the extinguisher is expected to protect for ordinary combustibles under standardized testing. A higher A rating means more area can be protected.

For a 5-A extinguisher, the standard test results in about 15,000 square feet of protection. That’s why this size is considered correct: the rating is a built-in measure of how much area the extinguisher can handle under the test conditions, not just a rough guess.

Keep in mind that real-world effectiveness depends on proper use, accessibility, and the specifics of the fire, but conceptually, a 5-A extinguisher is tied to roughly 15,000 square feet of protection. The other area figures don’t align with the established rating for a 5-A device.