Did you know that fire extinguishers don’t last forever? Contrary to what most people think, you can’t just leave a fire extinguisher in the corner forever; they need to be maintained routinely. Failure to do so puts your property at risk of fire.
A visual inspection should be done at least once every month to check for different signs, such as corrosion or making sure seals are not tampered with. Other types of maintenance also include yearly maintenance, as well as 6-year and 12-year maintenance, all of which, while serving a different purpose, ensure that your extinguishers are working well.
If you are on the fence about carrying out maintenance for your extinguishers, here are five reasons why it’s crucial that you carry this out:
1. Recharging
When your extinguishers have been used fully, or even partially, you need to make sure they are refilled properly. Failure to refill the extinguisher might result in a situation where there’s a fire and someone uses the extinguisher only to find out that nothing is coming out of it.
2. Blocked hoses
Sometimes, even when your extinguishers are sitting there unused, the hoses can be blocked. This can happen for many reasons, the most common one being insects building a nest inside the hose. However, there are many other causes as well, such as a bent hose or the O-rings becoming damaged over time.
3. Faded Labels
While this will not affect the extinguisher directly, faded labels will be an obstacle to anyone using the extinguisher, primarily if they have never used one before. Plus, these labels can also tell the user what kind of fires the extinguisher is meant for. If the label is faded, won’t know what type of fire the extinguisher is made for. In the unfortunate event that the wrong extinguisher is used, such as water being sprayed at a fat-fire, the consequences can be devastating.
4. Deterioration
While time will deteriorate any extinguisher, fire extinguishers that have never been touched before are especially prone to this. Damages such as corrosion or the weakened integrity of the tank itself are just some examples of the damage that time can cause on an extinguisher. To add to that, these kinds of damages are hard to see, and sometimes won’t even be visible to the naked eye. For that reason, maintenance is required to make sure the extinguishers are in good working order.
5. Leaks
Leaks can be a problem for extinguishers, as over time, it can lose all the pressure inside, rendering the equipment useless. Fortunately, there is an easy way to check for this, as most extinguishers come with built-in gauges on them. However, not all extinguishers come with this feature, and even if they come with it, regular maintenance is still required to make sure the tanks are leak-free.
Conclusion
There are a myriad of problems you will run into if you do not carry out maintenance for your fire extinguishers. Remember, failure to do this job can put the safety of everyone in the building at risk. No one wants to find themselves in a scenario where there’s a fire and none of the fire extinguishers are working properly. As such, do your part and ensure that maintenance activities are carried out specifically for your fire extinguishers.
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