A fire blanket is a safety device designed to extinguish incipient (starting) fires. It consists of a sheet of fire retardant material which is placed over a fire in order to smother it.
Small fire blankets, such as for use in kitchens and around the home, are usually made of fiberglass  and sometimes Kevlar, and are folded into a quick-release contraption for ease of storage.
Fire blankets, along with fire extinguishers, are fire safety items that can be useful in case of a fire. These nonflammable blankets are helpful in temperatures up to 900 degrees and are useful in smothering fires by not allowing any oxygen to the fire. Due to its simplicity, a fire blanket may be more helpful for someone who is inexperienced with fire extinguishers.
Larger fire blankets, for use in laboratory  and industrial situations, are often made of wool  (sometimes treated with a flame retardant fluid). These blankets are usually mounted in vertical quick-release container so that they can be easily pulled out and wrapped round a person whose clothes are on fire.
Fire blankets should never be used to extinguish oil and fat fires.
Fire blankets are a low cost, lightweight but highly efficient fire fighting agent, which can extinguish a fire in its early stages by smothering. They are able to withstand extremely high temperatures.
Neatly packaged in a choice of containers for domestic or industrial use they are supplied with two instantaneous release tapes which function as handles when the blanket is pulled from the container. The blanket itself acts as a heat shield protecting the user from the fire. When draped over a fire, the blanket smothers the fire by starving it of oxygen, leading to rapid extinction. This can also be used to wrap around a person whose clothes are on fire and can also be used to wrap around a hot or burning object for removal to a safe place. These blankets do not deteriorate; there are no moving parts, the blankets are always ready for instantaneous action.