You should check your home fire extinguishers regularly to ensure they’re undamaged and in working condition, so you know they’ll operate if a fire starts.
Every home is equipped with at least one fire extinguisher, which can be critical in the event of a fire. Make sure everyone in your home knows where each fire extinguisher is located and how to use it to ensure that everyone is capable of responding in an emergency. One of the best ways to do this is to have your family go through fire extinguisher training, which will educate them on how to use the PASS method effectively: Pull the pin, Aim the nozzle toward the base of the fire, Squeeze the trigger, and Sweep from side to side. Having everyone trained to respond during a fire is important, but it’s all for naught if your fire extinguisher isn’t being properly inspected and serviced. This raises the risk of your fire extinguisher failing to operate when you need it most.
Possible Damage
A visual inspection of your home fire extinguishers should be performed regularly to check for damage. This can be anything visible, including scratches, dents, and rust. If your home extinguisher is damaged, it needs to be serviced immediately or possibly replaced with a new unit.
Pressure Readings
The gauge on your home fire extinguisher will likely have a marked green zone, showing an acceptable range of pressure. If the gauge is reading above (high pressure) or below (low pressure) this green zone, it needs to be serviced by a professional. A fire extinguisher with low pressure may fail to operate, while high pressure could cause the extinguisher to rupture. Both of these scenarios are inconvenient, but more than that, they’re dangerous.
Old Age
Recently, Consumer Reports decided to volunteer 68 of their employees to have their home fire extinguishers checked. Of those 68, nearly half of the extinguishers were more than 20 years old. Fire extinguishers have an accepted shelf life of 12 years and they should be serviced and changed out as needed if there are any problems with them. An old extinguisher is likely to have the wear and tear of the years on it in addition to its old age, making it much more likely that it will fail to operate.
Don’t Put it Off
Life is busy, and many important things can fall to the wayside as daily obligations take up so much of our time—fire safety equipment included. Maintaining these systems is critical, however, because waiting until a fire starts will be too late. Fire alarms and extinguishers are there for your protection and they need to be kept in good, operable condition in order to do what they were made to do and keep your family safe.
Fire Protection Services from Fireline
Whether you need smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, or an automatic sprinkler system installed at your commercial property, Fireline has you covered. We have been protecting
people and property from fire damage since 1947—and our experience shows in our excellent work! We are known for our superb customer service, our expertise, and our reliability. For more information on how we can help your residential or commercial property, visit us online or give us a call at (800) 553-3405. We are in Baltimore, MD, with a second office in Leesburg, VA. For more fire safety tips, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.