Sometimes we can get pretty heavy-handed with our blog posts, talking about how to develop a positive safety culture, help supervisors encourage safe behaviors, and set organization-wide safety goals. But sometimes it's best to back it up and go back to the basics to review we've got everything in line. And there's not much more basic than fire extinguishers, although some of the rules surrounding them might seem... less than simple.
Here's the quick and dirty on fire extinguisher requirements.
1. Make sure you have the right extinguisher for your hazards
There are different types of fire extinguishers for different hazards, so it's important to review your hazards before purchasing fire extinguishers. Here are common types of fire extinguisher classes:
Class A: For paper, cloth, wood, rubber and many plastics
Class B: For flammable liquids and gases like gasoline, oil, paint, solvents and propane
Class C: For electrical equipment like wiring, fuse boxes, computers and motors
Class D: For combustible metals like magnesium, sodium, aluminum and other alloys that can react explosively to water
Class K: For cooking oils and lipids like grease or fat
For most businesses, placing combination ABC fire extinguishers throughout the business is appropriate, but if you have any special circumstances, such as combustible metals, cooking oils, or very common in the broadband world, lithium ion battery rooms, then make sure you're getting the appropriate fire extinguisher for your particular hazards.
2. Place them correctly
There are several rules of thumb for placing fire extinguishers correctly.
In general, fire extinguisher placement should not exceed 50 feet for class B hazards and 75 feet for class A hazards.
They must also be accessible and visible, so think about the easiest access points for fire extinguishers that make the most sense with your building layout.
Placing them in areas where items tend to accumulate sometimes doesn't end well. If you have shipping drop off points right next to an exit, it is not uncommon to see fire extinguishers covered by incoming inventory, so try to anticipate these hangups beforehand.
Overall, making sure there are never any obstructions to fire extinguisher access is extremely important.
3. Follow inspection requirements
Fire extinguisher inspection requirements come in several flavors: monthly, annual, and then more in-depth over several years, based on the type of fire extinguisher.
Each fire extinguisher should have a tag that allows documentation of both annual and monthly inspections for documentation.
Monthly inspection requirements include:
- Ensuring there are no obstructions and that fire extinguisher is accessible
- Ensure no obvious physical damage or corrosion to the outer metal surface
- Check the gauge on top of the extinguisher and make sure the needle is in the green range
- Look down the fire extinguisher hose to ensure no obstructions
- If a powder-based extinguisher (most basic ones are), then take off mount, turn upside down, and tap on the bottom with a rubbet mallet to ensure powder does not become compacted over time.
Here's a great and short video going over all the basics for monthly inspections:
Annual inspections must be done by a professional, and they will also be able to tell you when the more in-depth discharge and inspection must be done for your fire extinguishers as well. This is often needed in a range of every 2 - 6 years, depending on your fire extinguisher type.
4. Keep up with required training for employees
If employees are instructed to fight small fires with fire extinguishers in your company's emergency plan (this is common, although some companies instead have a policy of everyone evacuating and having the fire department take care of any fire), then you must have annual fire extinguisher trainings for employees. Training needs to include when it's appropriate to attempt to put out a fire with a fire extinguisher and the steps to use the fire extinguisher. If you are a member of TT&S, this is a service we already provide for you.
This is a basic primer to get anyone started on their fire extinguisher program. If you have any questions on specifics or would like to get a fire extinguisher training set up for your employees, please reach out!
