Having the proper fire extinguisher in working order is essential for keeping your building and those living or working there safe. In a fire emergency, these devices are the first line of defense.

When in working order, a fire extinguisher can extinguish a small fire before it has time to do any severe damage. This action can prevent the threat of injury or death and property loss.

But to work well, fire extinguishers should be inspected regularly, which often requires maintaining a fire extinguisher inspection routine.

All commercial and residential buildings must have fire extinguishers that are easy to see and reach during an emergency. Fire extinguishers located in the workplace are subject to OSHA and Fire Code Requirements.

These requirements contain specific guidelines for completing fire extinguisher services, inspections, and maintenance. To stay on top of these requirements, you should develop a fire extinguisher inspection routine. The following tips are helpful to maintaining this routine.

1. Understand the requirements. OSHA guidelines require that employers complete a monthly visual inspection of all portable fire extinguishers once a month.

This action should be recorded and kept in a file if the employer ever needs to produce a record that this was done monthly. Additionally, fire extinguisher maintenance checks should be completed annually, ensuring that the extinguishers are in proper working order.

Finally, internal maintenance inspections are required at a defined interval depending on the fire extinguishers you use. These intervals are commonly five, six, or twelve years.

The first step in developing a fire extinguisher inspection routine is understanding what extinguishers you have and how often they need this service. You should also have a thorough understanding of the actions you need to complete during each type of inspection.

2. Identify the type of extinguishers you have. There are many types of fire extinguishers with different agents to stop different types of fires. To know your inspection requirements, you must know what kind of extinguishers you have. The most common types include:

• Class A – for fires involving solid materials such as wood, paper, or textiles
• Class B – for fires involving flammable liquids such as petrol, diesel, or oils
• Class C – for fires involving live electrical equipment
• Class D – for fires involving flammable metals
• Class K – for fires involving cooking oils, such as deep fat fryers

3. Create checklists. There is a significant difference between the monthly visual inspections and the annual maintenance checks. Checklists can help everyone understand what they are supposed to do during each. For instance, the monthly visual inspections should include the following actions:

• Verification of a valid maintenance tag that can be read clearly.
• Checking that the fire extinguisher is charged and ready to use.
• Confirmation that the fire extinguisher can be seen and is accessed easily.
• Checking for physical damage, such as corrosion or cracking of the hose.
• Ensuring that all fire extinguishers are in their proper location.
• Checking the pressure gauge to ensure it is in the operating range.

By contrast, the annual inspection includes an examination of all of the essential elements of the fire extinguisher, including the following components:

• All mechanical elements of the extinguisher
• The extinguishing agent
• The fire extinguisher’s means of expelling the agent
• The physical condition of the unit
• Documentation of the fire extinguisher maintenance on a tag

4. Create a calendar or schedule. While checklists can ensure that you complete all required actions during an inspection or maintenance check, a calendar can keep you on schedule.

Developing a calendar at the start of the year will help you remember when each inspection is due. You can add this activity to your calendar or program reminders into your phone.

Both of these actions will help to ensure that you stay on schedule and don’t accidentally miss a deadline.

5. Assign tasks to individuals. Another critical action in developing a fire extinguisher inspection routine is understanding who is responsible for all actions.

You can ensure that someone follows up and completes the requirements by assigning responsibility. For example, it may be the building owner’s responsibility, the maintenance crew’s, or you may even contract with a fire extinguisher service company.

In any event, understanding who is responsible for inspections and maintenance requirements is another way to develop a routine and ensure it is completed.

6. Send out reminders. If you are assigning responsibility for the fire extinguisher inspection tasks, it is helpful to send out reminders.

These reminders can prevent oversight and help to ensure due diligence. If you develop a calendar or schedule at the beginning of the year, you can also set up monthly reminder emails to automatically be sent out.

7. Partner with a professional fire extinguisher servicing company. Completing the required fire extinguisher inspections is difficult. There are a lot of regulations, deadlines, and documentation requirements.

Additionally, some of the actions required, such as hydrostatic testing of internal components, can only be done by professionals with the proper education and training. Fire safety inspection companies provide various training programs to their employees, on-site and online to ensure that the professionals are capable to handle hazardous situations. Moreover, workplace trends in elearning show that such businesses may employ AI and stimulation to condition the employees to handle any fire-related problem with expertise.

Experts in this field have an in-depth understanding of the requirements and have developed routines that work for their clients. More importantly, these regular inspections conducted by professional staff are the best way to ensure your fire extinguishers work when you need them to.

When you partner with someone in this business, you can rely on their fire extinguisher inspection routine without developing one of your own. It is the easiest way to ensure you meet all requirements and that your fire extinguishers are in working order.

In Conclusion

Fire extinguishers are essential. They can snuff out a small fire before it has time to damage property or hurt individuals in a building. But to do this, they have to be inspected regularly.

The tips above can help you develop a fire extinguisher inspection routine that works for you. This action is the best way to ensure all of your extinguishers stay up-to-date and in working condition!

However, there is no substitute for working with professional experts in this field. They can bring experience and expertise that you and your staff lack.

If you live in the Reno/Sparks area, visit Legacy Fire and let the experts help you develop the best plan for your business.