Fire Extinguishers for your business

[HC_Charlie]

I just learned some important information regarding fire safety; I've had a retail store for five years that I am closing this month, but only now learned about some of this...

not only is it important to have working fire extinguishers in your business, but there are many regulations, so please read the following:

• Employers must check, maintain, and have tested (by a certified professional) all portable fire extinguishers. Details here from the U.S. Dept. of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Fire extinguishers have an expiration date. Check an attached tag for this date, and either replace or have a licensed fire equipment professional check or recharge your extinguishers. Using an expired fire extinguisher can significantly reduce its effectiveness.
• Any fire extinguisher that has been used (discharged) should not be placed back into service until it is checked/replaced/recharged by a qualified professional.
• All extinguishers should be checked every year. Proper maintenance and regular inspections are crucial to keep fire extinguishers in optimal condition. Every fire extinguisher requires a tag that shows the last check date and whether it is new or refilled. Your fire extinguisher is good for one year past inspection.

Some other important things to keep in mind...

Some types of businesses may require a special kind of fire extinguishers. For example, if your workplace has flammable liquids or electrical equipment, you might need a different kind of fire extinguisher to deal with these dangers.

And in the same way you have training info and procedures for when your employees face specific incidences (like upset customers or a crisis situation), you should have a fire safety plan in place, and make sure employees are trained in the

proper use of fire extinguishers, evacuation routes, and the importance of reporting potential fire hazards promptly. Be sure to also keep documentation of employee trainings and certifications to show to the fire marshal when necessary. 🚒

Fire extinguishers are something we normally don't think much about, UNTIL we have a fire situation that requires quick thinking and response. Please make sure your business is ready and able to handle any potential fire hazards you and your employees may encounter. 🔥

[phillipsrw]

Hi @HC_Charlie it's a layer of complication and cost to a business so often overlooked. I would recommend if you get the chance to do a fire saftey class. Its not complicated or costly but its a good experience to use a fire extinguiher to put a fire out in a controlled enviromnet, they show you how to takcle the fire for maximum effect and which extinguisher should be used in the difference scenarios say an electical fire. Discharging an extinguisher can sometimes be a little bit of a wow moment with the force and noise. 

[maxpete]

This is a super important safety tip, Charlie! Thank you for sharing this!

[AdamB]

Safety first! This reminds of when my wife and I bought our first house. As a house-warming gift, my mother bought us a fire extinguisher! 😂 Perhaps it's in the blood, though, because I look at all the windows on the second floor and think which would be best to escape through.

[HC_Charlie]

@AdamBmy father was a volunteer fire chief for many years, so you'd think I'd know about keeping extinguishers up-to-date, but I didn't have a clue! Ouch, I guess I wasn't paying attention as a youngster (we even had a fire bell on the kitchen wall above the refrigerator, so when the station alarm went off it also rang in our house!) I just figured I'd share in case other business owners may not be thinking about this.

I've also thought about second floor escapes when I lived in a city brownstone. I never got one, but I explored some interesting ladders you could unfold from under the window just in case 😮

[AdamB]

I think those portable mini-house things the Fire Department used to bring around to schools made an impression on me. Not sure if anyone else remembers those, but they were pretty effective teaching tools! I bet that alarm in your kitchen lost its luster very quickly.

[TCSlaguna]

Thanks for the important information @HC_Charlie. We have actually had the fire department stop by and check to see if our fire extinguishers are up to date, so we try to make sure to have a regular schedule for inspections and maintenance. 

[homeprogreen]

Our local fire department actually has a yearly inspection process which includes fire extinguishers. Luckily for me one of my customers works for one of the local fire extinguisher companies so he just takes care of it when he’s in the shop. Every time he walks in the shop he glances at the tag since it’s hanging by the door and if it’s getting close to being out of date he just grabs it, takes it out to his truck and brings in a fresh one. Works great for both of us since we just horse trade 

[AdamB]

Now if only someone could do that for smoke detectors so they don't start chirping at 2 in the morning.

[TCSlaguna]

Haha. I have Nest Protects at home to avoid that exact situation. It's a bummer Google hasn't update them in years. I guess they just work.

[AdamB]

One or two in my house are hardwired, which is nice, but the others aren't. I use some of Amazon's Ring security cameras and so on; it would be nice if they eventually added something like this so the Ring app could alert me when batteries are getting low.

[homeprogreen]

The batteries in those Nest Protect last for years but are super expensive when they do need replacing. I think I paid 35 bucks for 4 batteries when I did the ones in my house 

[rtfulk]

We work state fairs so we have to have a fire extinguisher or we can’t open.  The good thing about that is our extinguishers get checked every 2 weeks.