When you own a business or a home, you should have multiple fire extinguishers on hand in the event fire breaks out. A fire extinguisher can help any business or property owners immediately put out small fires and keep them from doing extreme damage and growing larger.
Although placing fire extinguishers in a business or house is not the only step that you should make. It’s also important to do regular fire extinguisher maintenance and even get them checked to ensure that they can do their main purpose of putting off fire properly. Listed below are a few guidelines you should take to maintain your fire extinguisher.
Check Your Fire Extinguishers Once A Month
It’s important to take a look and inspect your fire extinguishers at least every month, so make this a habit. You should do this routine to check whether there are any trouble indications, ensure that your units are not damaged, and verify whether their safety seals are not broken. Moreover, you have to see that your fire extinguisher hoses are not obstructed and that they are placed in an area where people can easily find them should there be a fire break out.
Employ an Expert to Maintain And Check Your Fire Extinguishers Once Per Year
Visually inspecting your fire extinguishers every month can, indeed, help you to prevent experiencing any major issues. However, you must also get them professionally inspected every year. To do so, it’s best if you hire a professional who can provide thorough fire extinguisher maintenance and assessment. During your yearly inspection, an expert can check your fire extinguisher’s mechanical parts and ensure that every part and component they have are in good condition. After the professional inspector is done, they will record the inspection on the fire extinguisher’s tags.
You Should Make Sure That
- There are no signs of rust, dents, chemical deposits, leaks, and/or other wear/abuse indicators. Wipe off any gunk, oil, corrosive chemicals, and more that may have remained on the fire extinguisher.
- The tamper seal and pin are intact.
- The nozzle or other components are not blocked at all.
- The pressure is at the suggested level. The needle must be in the green zone for those extinguishers with a gauge, meaning, it should not be too low or too high.
- The extinguisher is not hindered by coats, equipment, or other objects that could block access during an emergency.
Perform A Six-year Checkup on Your Fire Extinguishers
This six-year fire extinguisher inspection is quite the same as the yearly inspection. These services only differ in terms of the process applied during this checkup. In a six-year inspection, the fire extinguisher will be completely emptied for the expert to look at the mechanical parts found inside the fire extinguisher. If everything is still working fine, they will refill your fire extinguisher, repressurise, and reseal it. After that, they will record it on the tag’s lane based on the six-year inspection.
Conclusion
If you use fire extinguisher maintenance regularly in your business and home, you can help prevent possible issues that might come in the future. As a result, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you can rely on your fire extinguishers if there will be fire breakouts in the future.
