Fire extinguishers

I am looking for information from anyone with experience with the
after effects of fire extinguishers.  The University of Kentucky is
replacing all of their CO2 fire extinguishers with dry chemical
ones.

Michael Trinkly states in his book, "Can You Stand The Heat", that
there are two basic types of dry chemical extinguishers, ordinary
and multipurpose.  The difference is the chemicals used in the
container.  Michael states that the multipurpose extinguisher
contains ammonium phosphate and states it may corrode metal.  I
would  to avoid this one due to the computers in the library, but
what, if any, effect does either dry chemical unit have on book
material.  It is my guess that a dry chemical unit would be
preferable to a pressurized water unit since both would put out the
fire and water damage would not be a consideration.  However, I have
not been involved in any disaster clean up due to fire and would
like any input from people with experience in this area.

Donia Conn
Conservation Librarian
University of Kentucky Libraries

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:92
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 14, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-92-020
                                  ***