Fire Extinguishers – draft

Fire Extinguishers

You’re Business and the Law

Current fire regulations under the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 (Fire Safety) state that all fire safety equipment must be “maintained in efficient working order and in good repair.” Fire extinguisher maintenance includes checking for exhausted extinguishers that may not have been reported as used, checking that anti-tamper tags are in place, and that the fire extinguishers themselves are physically in good condition and ready for use – you’d be amazed how many safety pins get bent and stuck in place without being spotted! or reported.

The British Standard 5306 part 3 requires that maintenance of all your fire extinguishers is conducted by a ‘competent person’. If you do not have such a fully-trained service engineer in-house, you should set up a maintenance contract with an approved maintenance contractor.

What Does Effective Fire Extinguisher Maintenance Involve?

The effective maintenance of fire extinguishers includes many separate checks on gauges, moving parts, tubes, valves, and operating mechanisms, amongst others. The fire extinguishers also need to be thoroughly checked for signs of corrosion.

Fire extinguisher maintenance tests must be carried out annually, and an extended service carried out every five years for most types of fire extinguishers. This includes a full discharge test, where the extinguisher is operated under test conditions, its performance recorded, any faulty or worn parts replaced, the extinguisher refilled, and returned to service.