Fire Extinguisher Buying Guide

How to buy new extinguishers

If you are replacing existing fire extinguishers it is easy to choose the correct fire extinguishers, as long as you are certain that nothing has changed in terms of fire risk since the last visit by a service engineer. Just ensure that you purchase extinguishers with the same type of extinguishing agent (powder, AFFF foam, CO2, water etc) as are currently installed and that the rating of the new units at least matches the rating of the existing extinguishers. The physical size of the extinguishers does not matter, as long as the rating is met. Fire extinguisher rating is explained at the bottom of this guide.

If you are purchasing extinguishers for new premises or the building or its use has been altered, we would recommend that you ask us to carry out a site survey. We will send one of our fire extinguisher service engineers to carry out the site survey and to recommend types and locations of fire extinguishers required. If you purchase the extinguishers from us we will refund the charge for the site survey.

When you place an order for fire extinguishers you will have various options available. If you already have the wall brackets and wall signs for extinguishers in place but the extinguishers have to be installed in accordance with British Standard BS5306 (sometimes an insurance or other stipulation) you should choose the extinguishers with the ‘onsite commissioning’ option (Option 2). We will then deliver the extinguishers and send one of our BAFE registered engineers to you to commission the units onsite. This commissioning includes checking that the extinguishers were not damaged in transit, that they have been correctly installed and certifying that you have adequate extinguisher cover. A slightly more expensive option is to order the extinguishers with installation (Option 3), which includes fitting brackets and signs (if purchased,) plus commissioning.

How to maintain your fire extinguishers

Extinguishers must be visually checked regularly by yourself to ensure that they have not been emptied or damaged. These checks should be recorded in your fire safety log book.

Extinguishers must also be checked once a year by a competent person in accordance to the manufacturer’s instructions. There is also a British Standard describing the relevant checks, which usually means that a service engineer has to carry out the service.

Every 5 years powder, foam, water and wet chemical extinguishers must be discharged, checked for corrosion and damage and subsequently re-filled. Again this work will normally have to be done by trained engineers. Powder extinguisher are rarely refilled onsite and instead exchanged with refilled or even with new extinguishers, as prices for new extinguishers may be lower than for the refilling of extinguishers.

For CO2 extinguishers a discharge, refurbishment and refill is required after ten years. Engineers will at this point usually offer refurbished exchange extinguishers or again entirely new extinguishers.

Why does the Fireworld fire extinguisher not have to be serviced?

The latest development in fire extinguisher technology is the Britannia Fireworld range of extinguishers which can be self-maintained for 10 years. The major difference to other extinguishers is that the Fireworld units do not require maintenance or refill by an extinguisher engineer for a ten year period. In actual fact, any exchange or modification of components would invalidate the 10 year warranty. They are in this respect similar to modern cars where the owners do not have to service the car or change any components/oils during substantial periods after the purchase of the car.

The Fireworld extinguishers have to be installed and certified to ensure you are adequately covered. Our BAFE registered engineers will certify that the customer is correctly covered and that the extinguishers are free of damage. The customer is then trained in the visual yearly inspection that must be carried out by themselves (checking of the dual gauges, making sure that the hose is not blocked, checking for damage and checking the age of the extinguisher). The delivery, installation, training and certification are included in the purchase price. As with the previously installed extinguishers, the customers need to regularly check extinguishers in between the yearly intervals. Both checks (regular and yearly visual inspections) must be recorded in the fire safety log book.

Most insurance companies accept the Fireworld inspection regime (eg Ecclesiastical Insurance Group), however we always recommend that our customers notify their insurance company of their new regime once the extinguishers are installed.

Fire extinguisher rating explained

1. A letter that marks the classes of fire the extinguisher can tackle

Classes of Fire

	Class A	Freely Burning Materials ie: Wood, Paper, Straw, Textiles, Coal
	Class B	Flammable Liquids ie: Petrol, Diesel, Oils, Paraffin
	Class C	Flammable Gases ie: Methane, Propane, Hydrogen, Natural Gas
	Class D	Flammable Metals ie: Magnesium, Aluminium, Lithium
	Class F	Combustible Cooking Media ie: Cooking Oil, Fats, Grease

2. A number which relates to the fire fighting capability of an extinguisher when tackling this particular class of fire. The higher the number, the better an extinguisher is able to fight the fire.

Extinguishers are usually able to deal with more than just one class of fire. Therefore you might find several letters on an extinguisher, each with their own number to describe the fire fighting capability for the extinguisher, assuming that the extinguisher would be used purely on this particular class of fire.