Are business owners allowed to complete their own monthly fire extinguisher inspections?

The easy answer is – Yes you are.

Often, fire protection companies are hired out to do these inspections because of the lack of business interruption that they can provide you. Also, there’s a little bit of responsibility in terms of liability, making sure that those inspections are accurate.

To perform your own monthly inspections, you will need a list of fire extinguishers that outlines where the extinguishers are, what size is the extinguisher, and what type of extinguisher.

Performing a Monthly Fire Extinguisher Inspection

1. Look to make sure that it has a valid maintenance tag on it.

2. Check the pressure gauge to ensure that the indicator is in the operating range. Make sure that the fire extinguisher is “in the green”.

3. Make sure that the extinguisher is not blocked or obscured.

4. Make sure the tamper seal is on the extinguisher, that it’s holding the pin in firmly, and that it hasn’t been damaged.

5. Make sure that the nameplate/ instructions are visible and facing outwards.

6. Is the extinguisher full? We can check that by hefting it or weighing it. Simply by lifting and turning over the extinguisher we can tell that it does have agent inside of it.

7. Next, we’re looking for physical damage on that extinguisher to make sure that it wasn’t knocked off the wall by a forklift or something else, with a damaged hose or anything.

8. Lastly, Initial and date the back of the annual maintenance tag to mark the monthly inspection.

For all your inspection, certification, and maintenance needs contact us at Integral Fire Protection Ltd.

www.integralfirepro.ca