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Ensure fire safety with an efficient fire extinguisher inspection using a mobile app
Published October 13th, 2020
A fire extinguisher inspection is conducted monthly to ensure that fire extinguishers are in good working condition. Fire extinguisher maintenance and monitoring is covered under the inspection and is conducted by external professionals or an organization’s own safety officers as part of an overall fire safety strategy.
Over 90% of fires in commercial properties are extinguished early on by members of the public using a fire extinguisher. Even a single malfunctioning fire extinguisher can put countless lives at risk. A safety officer’s job is to perform regular fire extinguisher inspections and maintain up to date records to keep buildings and tenants safe. It is critical that a safety officer knows how to efficiently perform a fire extinguisher inspection, is aware of the most common issues identified during an inspection, and knows how to respond accordingly.
This guide gives a quick rundown on the following:
When performing a monthly fire extinguisher inspection, it is important to follow these 5 key steps. Once you have learned what to look out for, you should expect to safely complete your inspection in 3 minutes.
Firstly, walk up to the fire extinguisher to check its visibility and accessibility:
Next, pick up the fire extinguisher to closely check for labeling, overall condition and physical defects:
Examine where the gauge needle is. A needle within the green zone is good. A needle in the left red zone means that the fire extinguisher is undercharged and warrants a recharge, while a needle in the right red zone signals a danger of being overcharged.
Note if an inspection tag is available. The tag should indicate that a fire extinguisher is regularly inspected.
Once done with the inspection, summarize observations/ action plan. Make sure to sign off on the fire extinguisher inspection tag (if available) with your name/signature and date of inspection. That’s it!
While it is important to know how to identify a proper-functioning fire extinguisher, it is equally important to be aware of the common issues that arise and how to respond:
Click the sample fire extinguisher inspection report below which presents the findings, evidence, and recommended action plans in PDF.
Safety officers can inspect up to 100 fire extinguishers in a building per month, not to mention complete post-inspection reports for each. Caught up in all that paperwork, the probability of human error increases, which means the risk of fire caused by a single non-functioning fire extinguisher also becomes higher.
With iAuditor by SafetyCulture, safety officers can improve fire safety in the workplace by accomplishing fire extinguisher inspections more efficiently. With iAuditor, you can:
To get you started, download this free 3-minute fire extinguisher inspection checklist and customize it for your next inspection.
Author
SafetyCulture staff writer
Jona has been part of SafetyCulture for more than 2 years contributing her experience in writing quality and well-researched content. She usually writes a topic about risks, safety, and quality.
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