As with all fire safety legislation in England and Wales, UK Fire Extinguisher regulations form part of ‘The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005’, also known as the ‘RRO’.
All premises used for non-domestic purposes, with a few minor exceptions, come under this order.
Here we share some details about fire extinguisher regulations in the UK.
UK fire extinguisher standards recommend that you should have a minimum of two ‘Class A’ extinguishers on every storey of the building. Class A fire extinguishers are those which put out wood or paper fires.
Class A fire extinguishers meeting this regulation are:
– 3 litre foam extinguishers
– 6 litre foam extinguishers
– 9 litre water extinguishers
UK fire extinguisher regulations specify that all premises with electrical equipment must have at least 2kg CO2 extinguishers. Where there is 415 volt rated equipment, then 5kg CO2 extinguishers are required
Other types of extinguisher that may be needed on business premises are dry powder extinguishers, for gas risk, e.g. in boiler rooms and wet chemical extinguishers that are used in kitchens with deep-fat fryers for example.
The ‘standard pair’ water-based and CO2 fire extinguishers are usually located by exits and fire alarm call-points. There is also a 30 metre rule that states you should be no more than 30 metres from the appropriate extinguisher on any given level of your premises.
‘Specialist’ extinguishers, such as wet chemical and powder extinguishers should be positioned within easy reach of the specific fire hazard – e.g. the deep fat fryer.
To comply with fire extinguisher regulations, extinguishers should be either fixed to the wall, or attached to a stand. This is to discourage people from moving them around, for example, using them to prop doors open.
All extinguishers should also be clearly signposted with fire extinguisher ID signs fixed to the stand or the wall. Extinguisher ID signs explain which type of extinguisher they are, and how and when to use them.
We supply fire extinguishers and carry out fire extinguisher servicing in High Wycombe, London, Uxbridge and the whole of the South-East for a variety of businesses.
All of our extinguisher engineers are BAFE approved and work to British Standards.
If you are responsible for fire safety for a business, then you must make sure fire extinguisher servicing is carried out annually to meet current fire safety regulations.
Contact us to find out more.