A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish small incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of fire retardant material which is placed over a fire in order to smother it (see below).

Small fire blankets, such as for use in kitchens and around the home, are usually made of fibreglass and sometimes kevlar, and are folded in to a quick-release container for ease of storage.

Larger fire blankets, for use in laboratory

Laboratory

A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...

 and industrial situations, are often made of wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 (sometimes treated with a flame retardant fluid). These blankets are usually mounted in vertical quick-release cabinets so that they can be easily pulled out and wrapped round a person whose clothes are on fire.

Some older fire blankets were made of woven asbestos

Asbestos

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

 fibre and are not NFPA

NFPA

NFPA may refer to:* National Fire Protection Association** NFPA 704, National Fire Protection Association Fire Diamond* National Food Processors Association* National Fluid Power Association* Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency...

 rated. This can pose a hazard during the decommissioning of old equipment.

Operation

In order for a fire to burn, all three elements of the fire triangle

Fire triangle

The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the ingredients necessary for most fires.The triangle illustrates a fire requires three elements: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent . The fire is prevented or extinguished by removing any one of them...

must be present: heat, fuel and oxygen. A fire blanket either completely surrounds a burning object or is placed over a burning object and sealed closely to a solid surface around the fire. Whether the blanket is placed on top, or surrounding it, the job of the blanket is to cut off the oxygen supply to the fire, thereby putting it out.