Fire Extinguisher Inspection Checklist Template

What the Fire Extinguisher Inspection Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Plan the Round

   6 tasks

   Answer which rules apply first; it adds the matching legal notes and tasks. Every due date counts from the date and time the round starts.

   • Record the site, the round date, the inspector and the responsible person — the site and areas covered, the date and time the round starts, which every due date counts from, the person doing the round and the person who signs it off
   • Load the extinguisher register — every extinguisher on the site by number, location, type and last service date, so none is missed on the round
   • Check last month’s open defects and units out of service — any extinguisher still away for recharge or repair, and the spare standing in for it
   • Check whether the annual service is due this month — from the last service date on each label and in the register; the answer decides whether Phase 5 appears
   • US: check the 6-year maintenance and hydrostatic test dates — stored pressure dry chemical extinguishers that need a 12-year hydrostatic test are emptied and maintained every 6 years, and each type is hydrostatically tested at the interval in Table L-1
   • Take what the round needs — the register and floor plan on a phone or tablet, a camera for photos, and spare location signs
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Location, Access & Signs

   6 tasks

   Walk every point on the floor plan in the same order each month. Each task records one result for all the extinguishers on the round.

   • Check every extinguisher is in its designated place — each one at the point the register and floor plan show, none missing, moved or swapped for another type
   • Check each one can be reached and seen — nothing stacked in front of it, no furniture, stock or vehicles in the way, and visible from the route people use
   • Check the brackets, stands and mounting height — on its wall bracket or stand, secure, and at a height people can lift it off, about 1 m to the handle for larger extinguishers and 1.5 m for smaller ones in UK guidance
   • Check the location signs — a sign at each point where the extinguisher is not easy to see, present, legible and not covered
   • Check the right type is beside each hazard — for example carbon dioxide near electrical equipment and a Class F extinguisher in the kitchen, as the fire risk assessment sets out
   • Check for layout changes since the last round — new partitions, racking, rooms or hazards that leave an area without an extinguisher close enough
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Condition of Each Extinguisher

   7 tasks

   Look and handle; never test-discharge an extinguisher. A unit that fails any check here is taken out of service in Phase 4.

   • Check the safety pin and tamper seal — the pin in place and the seal unbroken; a broken or missing seal can mean the extinguisher has been used
   • Read the pressure gauge on stored pressure extinguishers — the needle in the operating zone; carbon dioxide extinguishers have no gauge and are checked at the service
   • Check the body for damage and corrosion — dents, rust, corrosion, cracks in the head or a leaking valve
   • Check the hose, horn and nozzle — not cracked, split, perished or blocked, and fitted securely
   • Check the operating instructions and labels — legible and facing outwards, with the type and the classes of fire it is for easy to read
   • Check the service label — present, filled in, and showing a service within the last 12 months
   • Ask whether any extinguisher was used since the last round — even a short burst; a used extinguisher is recharged before it goes back, and a fire nobody reported is reported now
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Defects & Immediate Replacement

   6 tasks

   The result of the round decides what follows. An extinguisher that cannot be put right on the spot comes out of service and is replaced straight away.

   • Record the result of the round — all pass, faults put right on the spot, or extinguishers that must come out of service; the answer decides what follows
   • Record each defect — the extinguisher number, where it is, what is wrong and what was done, with a photo
   • Put right what can be fixed on the spot — return a moved extinguisher to its point, clear the access, refit a sign or turn a label to face out; recharging and resealing are for the competent person
   • Take each faulty extinguisher out of service — a used, low-pressure, damaged or unsealed unit is removed from its point and labelled do not use so nobody relies on it
   • Put a replacement in its place straight away — a spare of the same type and rating at the same point, so no area is left without cover
   • Book the recharge or repair with the service company — with a job reference and the date each unit is due back
5. 5
   Phase 5 — If the service is due

   Phase 5: Annual Service by a Competent Person

   6 tasks

   Shown only when the annual service is due this month. The service is done by a competent person, such as a service company certificated for the work, not by the monthly inspector.

   • Book the annual service with a competent person — a service company or technician with the training and experience for the work, for a date this month
   • Give the technician the register and access to every point — including locked plant rooms, stores and roof spaces, so no extinguisher is missed
   • Record the work done on each extinguisher — serviced, refilled, recharged, tested or condemned, and the next service due
   • Collect the service certificate or report — signed by the technician, with a new service label dated on every extinguisher serviced
   • Record the service date for each extinguisher — on its label and in the register, so next month’s round can see every unit is in date
   • Replace condemned or obsolete extinguishers — with new ones of the right type and rating at the same points, and the register updated
6. 6
   Phase 6 — If an extinguisher is out of service

   Phase 6: Out-of-Service Escalation

   5 tasks

   Shown only when an extinguisher came out of service. The round cannot be closed until the responsible person confirms every point has a working extinguisher again.

   • Check every empty point has cover — a spare in place, or another extinguisher of the right type close by until the unit is back
   • Escalate any point without cover to the responsible person the same day — with the area affected, the hazard there and when cover will be back
   • Tell the people working in the affected area — where the nearest working extinguisher is until cover is restored
   • Chase each unit away for recharge or repair — until it is back at its point or replaced, with the date it returned
   • Responsible person confirms full cover is restored — every point on the register has a working extinguisher of the right type before the round is closed
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Record & Sign Off

   6 tasks

   The record of every round, not only the ones with defects, shows the equipment is kept in working order.

   • Update the extinguisher register — new and moved extinguishers, replacements, spares in use and service dates
   • Record the round in the fire safety logbook — the date, who did it, the result and any defects, in the logbook or an electronic record
   • Pass findings to whoever owns the fire risk assessment — wrong types, layout changes, repeated tampering or an extinguisher used on a fire are reasons to review it
   • Note any training needs — staff who do not know which extinguisher to use or when not to tackle a fire
   • Responsible person reviews and signs off the round — every defect has an action, every point has cover and repeat problems at the same point are spotted
   • Confirm the date of next month’s round — on the recurring schedule, with the same inspector or a named cover