Fact Sheet No. 2

Fire Extinguisher Servicing - Your Questions Answered

According to a recent survey, fire extinguishers are estimated to save the UK economy over £500million, prevent 1,629 injuries, and prevent the loss of 24 lives. In 80% of the 2,173 incidents recorded in the survey fire extinguishers successfully dealt with the fire and in 75% of those cases, the fire brigade was not required to attend.

In this factsheet we cover the issues surrounding Fire Extinguisher Servicing and the tests that should be undertaken to ensure your Extinguishers are in good working order.

Fire Extinguisher Servicing Factsheet

  • Do we really need to have our extinguishers serviced?
  • What is a ‘competent person’?
  • What does a normal service involve?
  • What is a ‘discharge test’ or ‘extended service’?
  • What happens if extinguishers are found to be unsafe or unserviceable?
  • What could we be doing ourselves to help?
  • Further reading

Sample Extract

Under the new Fire Safety Order, all employers are required to provide an adequate means of fighting a fire. Once installed this equipment should be regularly maintained by a competent person. BS 5306-3:2000 is the code of practice for the maintenance of portable fire extinguishers.

All employers in charge of a workplace must have their fire extinguishers serviced in line with this standard. Fire extinguishers should be professionally maintained by a ‘competent person’ at least once a year. Some of our customers choose more regular service intervals like six monthly or quarterly, reasons for this include:

There is an ongoing problem of extinguishers being tampered with;

  • Poor controls. Staff, not reporting used extinguishers
  • Especially high-risk processes requiring extra security
  • Lack of manpower to perform regular checks internally

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Barton Medical Services

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