When it comes to fire extinguisher inspections, many of us think that annually you should be checking your fire extinguisher(s) and getting them serviced or refilled. Hopefully, you do at least this otherwise what I'm about to say may shock you.
You must do a monthly inspection of all of your fire extinguishers in your home/workplace.
Luckily for us, this is a simple 7 step process that will become routine in time. The first two things you must know before starting an inspection of your fire extinguishers are:
- Who is responsible for doing the monthly checks? If you are at home reading this, it may be a simple answer of yourself. But if you are at work then who is responsible?
- Whoever is should always be; it tends to be easier this way. The person held accountable gets used to that responsibility.
- Before doing a monthly fire extinguisher inspection, you should always have a pen or marker and a rag with you.
Now that you have decided who will be responsible and they have all the necessary materials to check the fire extinguisher, here are the 7 steps to follow in order to properly inspection your fire extinguisher.
- As you as approaching the fire extinguisher, you should first be checking that it is readily available. This means that it is not blocked by any objects, is not difficult to get to, and is within reach. It should be mounted with a sign above that states that an extinguisher is underneath.
- If anything is blocking the fire extinguisher, now is the time to resolve the issue.
must prevent the powder from settling. Go ahead, give it a shake. While its in your hands, is it any lighter than usual or than you'd expect? Call your servicing company (or Safety Training Services here) to have them check it out. It's better to be safe than sorry!- If the label is missing or anything is illegible, get a new label when possible. You may even, depending on the extinguisher's state, look into purchasing a whole new fire extinguisher.
Now that the extinguisher is placed correctly and the label is facing outward, check the pin or safety seal. It should still be intact; if not, you should replace the fire extinguisher.
Congratulations, your monthly inspection is complete. Be sure to sign your initials on the tag when it has space for monthly inspections. This verifies that the extinguisher is up-to-date and also proves to OSHA (if need arises) that a monthly inspection has been performed.
If you want some or all of your employees to use fire extinguishers in an emergency, you must make sure they are fully trained. We will discuss fire extinguisher training; some issues and some safety tips in the next safety blog article! In the meantime, feel free to check out our fire extinguisher training course here: