We all know how important fire extinguishers are in keeping us safe in the event of a fire, however, fire extinguishers can often be taken for granted. While your premises may have fire extinguishers and you may pass them every day, you may not remember to have them serviced. It is, however, extremely important that you do remember to do this and in this blog, we’ll look into why this is as we discuss 3 reasons your fire extinguishers need to be serviced.
Internal Damage
While you may not be able to see it, over time, your fire extinguishers may begin to deteriorate or become damaged internally. One example of this is corrosion to the aluminium, steel or plastic inside the cylinder of the operating mechanism.
In addition to this, damage to the discharge hose can often be difficult to identify and may go unnoticed. Unfortunately, even if you don’t use your extinguishers they may still become damaged as when not used, insects or debris may get lodged in the hose which may reduce the efficiency of the extinguisher when in use.
Leaks
While most modern fire extinguishers do have a pressure gauge, and all are pressurised, sometimes gauges can fail. An engineer is able to check your extinguishers for signs of this and will be able to identify whether or not the extinguisher has actually lost pressure or if the problem is a faulty gauge. However, this does not apply to CO2 extinguishers that operate at high pressures and have no gauges.
Recharging
Did you know that any time a fire extinguisher discharges, even if it’s only for a short burst, it needs to be serviced, recharged or replaced? You may be thinking, “well my extinguisher pressure gauge is showing that there is enough gas in there” but even in this case, it could still leak over time after any use. This is why we recommend getting your fire extinguisher serviced anyway.
If you believe that a fire extinguisher on your premises hasn’t been serviced for a while, or if you’re unsure, then visit the fire extinguisher page on our website or contact us today to find out how we can help you. Alternatively, to learn more about how to tell if your extinguisher has expired, read our blog here.
