Fire Extinguisher Inspections

If you’re a business owner in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert or Peoria area, then it’s extremely important that you follow the guidelines for fire extinguisher inspections and maintenance that are set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The NFPA has set guidelines to help business owners, employees and customers stay safe and protected in the event of a fire.

One of the first guidelines that the NFPA has in place, is they require a monthly fire extinguisher inspection which luckily you’re able to do on your own. While all of these steps and checklists are important for making sure your fire extinguishers stay ready and properly functioning, they are definitely not a substitute for having professional maintenance done on your extinguishers. The NFPA also requires your business to have annual professional fire extinguisher inspections.

Believe it or not, an annual fire extinguisher inspection doesn’t include testing the fire extinguishers on your premises. That would actually needlessly waste the contents of the extinguisher and if there’s a fire, you may want the fluids that were used during testing to put out the rest of the fire.

The NFPA recommends testing the extinguishers once every 5 to 12 years, depending on the fire extinguishers you have for your properties.

Fire Extinguisher Maintenance Checklist

When hiring a professional technician to conduct the fire extinguisher inspections, the technicians from Titan Alarm will do the following:

The technician will verify that a fire extinguisher is placed within 75 feet of travelling, on every floor in the building and facilities.
Technicians will also verify that a fire extinguisher is placed within 30 feet of equipment in a commercial restaurant or industrial kitchen.
Technicians will ensure that there are fire extinguishers conspicuously placed, not hidden behind objects and that they are ready to be used in case of a fire.
Technicians will make sure that the labels indicating the types of fire extinguishers are all legible so that there is no confusion as to which extinguisher is needing to be used.
Technicians will go and check the pressure dials and make sure the dials are all easily read and pointing to the green area indicating the the extinguisher has a full charge.
The technician will also make sure that the hoses of the fire extinguishers are all intact and not brittle and falling apart.
The pull pin will also be checked to make sure it is securely fastened and that the tamper seal is not broken.
Technicians will check the extinguisher’s body for any damage, dents or cracks.
They will finally check for any modifications to the extinguisher that could possibly limit the fire extinguisher’s operation.