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Without having overthought this …
Whats the recommended fire extinguisher / other equipment to have at your reloading bench ?
When rifle powder catches fire do you even have a chance of putting it out or will you just be dealing with secondary stuff that caught light ?
Foam to smother (messy)
CO2 blows it out and is hence a favourite type amongst welders
Dry powder for that Christmas snow effect
Reloading powder is only on 'fire' for a fraction of a second. You will only be dealing with the secondary fires it creates...if you are still capable of reacting:wtfsmilie:
Gunpowder has its own source of oxygen, so on e it's going you won't put it out, and the gunpowder would likely be consu.ed in less than five seconds.
But as said above, it's the secondary fires you need to deal with.
The only fire's we caused during basic training at Waiouru in all that tussock country, and 4 years of Territorial training, was caused by tracer rounds. not muzzle flash.
Having not considered the possibility of a gunpowder fire, without stating the obvious contributing factors, smoking, vaping, lighters/matches…cellphones? What other items, actions & sources would be considered hazardous on or near the loading bench
Electrical equipment building a static charge - actually static charges in general really, an errant spark in the wrong place and whoops.
Pays to keep all of the primer steps together, get rid of any spare primers after that steps done and then get the powder out. I normally use a minimum amount in a metal cup, and top up from the container with only one type of powder out at a time just because I know what I can do in a moment of inattention (I can produce some spectacular cockups when I get started so I make sure I can't from the get go and have a really solid procedure in place so I don't miss a step or have any other options to cluster it up).
As far as fire, CO2 is a clean fire extinguisher - but the least effective of the mediums and can spread light items that are burning without extinguishing them making the cluster worse. Marginal cooling potential, no real capping ability so the stuff on fire may just reflash if you do extinguish it. Wouldn't recommend foam either, no good for some types of fires and can be bloody dangerous around live electricity. My recommend is dry powder ABE - a 2.5Kg size one or a couple of them will do the work for you if it's bigger than they can handle leave it and claim insurance. Not worth your life...
As a site manager - all of ours are dry powder for the reasons @No.3 stated. Dry powder will make a shit ton ton of mess, but still better than a growing fire.
Dry powder does vacuum up nicely once its landed, but make sure to clean it up quick on anything you want to save. The powder will stick to anything thats really hot to try to cap it off from oxygen and prevent reflash. Once this residue starts absorbing moisture it becomes alkaline which becomes corrosive. One reason why dry powder is not rated for electronics and the like, as it will destroy anything in the area that isn't on fire or already damaged. CO2 is used in these environments for that reason, often as a fixed installation that drenches the enclosure...