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Siren & Safe

Fire Extinguishers

Amerex B500 vs First Alert HOME1

Both are rated, rechargeable, metal-valved extinguishers. One has twice the agent and twice the A rating; the other you can aim accurately with one hand.

By Ryder M.Last reviewed

Utility room wall with equipment mounted at working height

Buy the Amerex B500 if the person most likely to use it can comfortably hold 5 lb out in front of them and sweep — it has double the A rating, more run time and an all-metal body built to be serviced for decades. Buy the First Alert HOME1 if they cannot, or if the space is a small apartment kitchen or a boat. The B and C ratings are identical at 10-B:C, so this is not a question about what fires each one fights. It is a question about weight.

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Side by side

Amerex B500First Alert HOME1
UL rating2-A:10-B:C1-A:10-B:C
Agent weight5 lb2.5 lb
A capabilityRoughly doubleHalf
B and C capability10-B:C10-B:C — identical
Valve and headAll-metal valve and bodyMetal head, metal pull pin
RechargeableYesYes
Bracket includedCheck the listingYes
Meets a 2-A minimum requirementYesNo
One-handed controlHarderEasier
Best positionMain level, garage, kitchen exitApartment, boat, landing, second unit

Ratings as published by each manufacturer and produced under UL 711 testing. No prices are shown anywhere on this site.

The only question that decides it

Can the person most likely to reach for it hold 5 lb out in front of them, at arm's length, and steer a discharge accurately for several seconds while walking toward a fire?

If yes: the Amerex. More agent, more A rating, better build, and it meets minimum-rating requirements that the smaller unit does not.

If no — and for plenty of people the honest answer is no — the First Alert. Not as a compromise but as the correct choice, because an extinguisher that gets aimed at the base of the fire beats one that gets waved at the flame tips and emptied in four seconds.

This is not a hypothetical concern. The realistic operator in many households is whoever is nearest, and that may be a smaller adult, an older adult, or someone with a wrist or shoulder problem. Buy for them rather than for the spec sheet.

What the ratings do and do not tell you

The A number relates to the size of ordinary-combustible fire the unit extinguished in the UL test — wood, paper, fabric, most plastics. 2-A is approximately twice 1-A.

The B number relates to the square footage of flammable-liquid fire. Both units here are 10-B, so on petrol, oil, solvent and paint they are rated the same.

The C has no number. It certifies that the agent is non-conductive and therefore safe to use around energized electrical equipment. It is a property, not a quantity, and both units have it.

What none of the numbers tell you is run time, which follows from agent quantity rather than rating, or how controllable the unit is. Those are the two things this comparison actually turns on, and neither appears on the label. The classes page has the full reference, and what size do I need works through the sizing thresholds.

The answer most houses should actually implement

Both, in different places. A 5 lb 2-A:10-B:C unit near the kitchen exit or on the main level as the house's primary extinguisher, and a 2.5 lb unit upstairs, in a utility room, or in a vehicle as the one that is closest to hand and easiest to use.

That is a better arrangement than two of either. The primary unit gives you the rating and run time for a fire with room to grow; the small one gives you speed and control for a fire caught immediately.

If the house has a garage or workshop, the third unit should be larger again with a higher B rating, because that is where flammable liquids live. The home roundup covers it.

And the kitchen still wants a fire blanket within one step of the hob, ahead of either of these — a pan of oil is the fire a kitchen is most likely to produce and the one where a blanket genuinely outperforms an extinguisher.

Questions people actually ask

Is the Amerex B500 better than the First Alert HOME1?
On rating and run time, yes: 2-A against 1-A, and 5 lb of agent against 2.5 lb. On usability, the HOME1 is easier to hold out and aim accurately, which is where domestic extinguisher use actually fails. Both are 10-B:C, so choose on whether the likely user can control 5 lb.
What is the difference between 1-A and 2-A on a fire extinguisher?
The A number relates to the size of ordinary-combustible fire the unit extinguished in the UL test, so a 2-A unit handles roughly twice the wood, paper and fabric fire of a 1-A. It says nothing about flammable liquids or electrical fires, which are the B and C ratings.
Is a 2.5 lb fire extinguisher big enough for a house?
As a supplementary unit, yes. As a house's only extinguisher, it is marginal — the 1-A rating is half that of a 2-A unit, the run time is short, and code requirements that specify a minimum rating often start at 2-A. Pair it with a 5 lb unit on the main level.
Do both extinguishers work on electrical fires?
Yes, identically. Both are rated C, which certifies the agent is non-conductive and safe around energized electrical equipment. The C rating has no number because it is a property rather than a quantity.
Which one should I put in the kitchen?
Either, mounted by the exit rather than by the cooker — the smaller unit if the kitchen is a confined galley where control matters more than run time. But the kitchen's first tool should be a fire blanket within one step of the hob, because a pan of oil is the likely fire and a blanket handles it without splashing the fuel.

How these picks were chosen. On published specifications, safety listings and manufacturer documentation — plus the findings of organizations that do run tests. We have no laboratory and we do not burn anything. Read the full methodology.

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