How Often Should Fire Extinguishers Be Serviced?
Fire extinguishers are a vital part of any commercial fire safety strategy, but simply having them on site isn’t enough. To work effectively in an emergency, they need to be regularly checked, professionally serviced, and kept in the right condition for the risks within your building.
With regular servicing, it helps to ensure each extinguisher remains accessible, fully pressurised, undamaged, and ready for use if a fire occurs.
In this blog, we explain how often fire extinguishers need to be serviced, what the current fire extinguisher servicing requirements are, and provide you with a handy checklist so you can keep your business safe and compliant.
What are the current fire extinguisher servicing requirements?
In England, fire safety duties are set out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Article 17 requires fire safety equipment to be subject to a suitable system of maintenance and kept in efficient working order and good repair. This includes portable fire extinguishers used within commercial and non-domestic premises.
The recognised standard for the maintenance of portable fire extinguishers is BS 5306-3. This standard provides guidance on the inspection, commissioning, servicing, and maintenance of extinguishers, helping businesses ensure equipment remains safe, suitable, and ready for use. BAFE guidance also states that basic fire extinguisher servicing should be carried out at least annually by a competent person.
For business owners, landlords, facilities managers, and ‘Responsible Persons’, this means fire extinguisher maintenance isn’t optional. It forms part of your wider duty to maintain appropriate fire safety measures and protect staff, visitors, customers, and property.
How often do fire extinguishers need to be serviced?
Fire extinguisher maintenance frequency is usually based on two levels of routine checks: regular monthly visual inspections and annual professional servicing.
Here’s a breakdown of what each of these should encompass.
Monthly inspections
Monthly inspections can normally be carried out by the responsible person or a trained member of staff. They’re designed to catch obvious issues between professional service visits.
These checks should confirm that extinguishers are in their correct locations, clearly visible, and easy to access. They should also check that each extinguisher hasn’t been:
- Discharged
- Damaged
- Moved
- Tampered with
- Blocked by furniture, stock, or equipment
The pressure gauge should also be checked where applicable, labels and instructions should remain legible, and safety pins or tamper seals should still be intact. If any extinguisher appears damaged, missing, under pressure, or unsuitable, it should be reported and checked by a competent person as soon as possible.
It’s important to note that these visual checks shouldn’t replace professional annual servicing, and should be seen as a valuable part of ongoing fire safety management.
Annual servicing
Annual servicing must be completed by competent fire safety professionals, like City Fire, as it encompasses a formal specialist inspection to confirm that your extinguishers remain safe and ready for use.
A competent technician will inspect each extinguisher in detail, checking its condition, pressure, weight, components, labelling, location, and suitability. As well as confirming that each extinguisher is appropriate for the risks in that area of the building, a professional service visit will also include checking:
- Hoses
- Nozzles
- Seals
- Safety pins
- Corrision
- Discharge mechanisms
- Service records
Once complete, the extinguisher is usually labelled with the service date, and documentation is provided for your fire safety records. If an issue is identified, the extinguisher may need repair, recharge, replacement, or further testing.
Do different types of fire extinguishers have different servicing requirements?
Although all extinguishers require regular inspection and professional servicing, different extinguisher types may have different maintenance needs across their lifecycle.
Water, foam, and powder extinguishers are commonly subject to extended servicing at set intervals, which may involve discharge testing, refilling, or replacement depending on their condition and type.
CO₂ extinguishers require different checks because they’re high-pressure cylinders and must be tested in line with relevant pressure safety requirements.
Wet chemical extinguishers, often used in kitchens, also require careful inspection to ensure the agent, hose, lance, and discharge mechanism remain suitable for cooking oil and fat fire risks.
That’s why it’s important to work with a competent provider who understands the servicing requirements for every extinguisher type. At City Fire, we service water, foam, CO₂, dry powder, and wet chemical extinguishers to help businesses maintain the correct equipment across all areas of their premises.
What happens if fire extinguishers aren’t serviced?
If your fire extinguishers aren’t serviced regularly, there’s no reliable way to know whether they’ll work properly in an emergency. An extinguisher may look fine from the outside but still have internal corrosion, pressure loss, damaged components, or blockages that could prevent it from discharging correctly.
Poorly maintained extinguishers also create compliance risks. If a fire occurs and the equipment hasn’t been properly maintained, this could lead to enforcement action, insurance complications, and reputational damage. More importantly, it could put staff, visitors, and occupants at greater risk.
Failing to meet fire extinguisher servicing requirements can also leave gaps in your fire safety strategy. The wrong extinguisher may remain in place after a building layout change, damaged units may be missed, or equipment may become inaccessible over time. Regular servicing helps prevent these issues and ensures your fire extinguishers remain suitable for your premises.
Your fire extinguisher maintenance checklist
A fire extinguisher maintenance checklist is a useful way to keep track of routine visual inspections and prepare for professional servicing. It helps ensure extinguishers aren’t forgotten, moved, blocked, or left in poor condition.
For monthly checks, your checklist should include:
- Is the extinguisher in its correct location?
- Is it clearly visible and easy to access?
- Is the pressure gauge in the correct range, where fitted?
- Are the safety pin and tamper seal intact?
- Is the extinguisher free from dents, corrosion, or damage?
- Are the instructions and labels clear and legible?
- Is the extinguisher mounted securely or placed correctly on its stand?
- Has it been discharged or partially used?
- Is the correct extinguisher type still in place for the area?
Having this fire extinguisher maintenance checklist and keeping a simple record of monthly checks and annual servicing helps demonstrate that you’re actively managing your fire safety responsibilities.
Stay compliant with our professional fire extinguisher maintenance
Understanding how often fire extinguishers should be serviced is essential for keeping your premises safe, compliant, and prepared. Monthly visual checks help identify obvious issues, while annual professional servicing ensures your extinguishers are properly inspected, documented, and maintained in line with recognised standards.
At City Fire Protection, we provide professional fire extinguisher maintenance and servicing for commercial and industrial premises across the UK with the support of the LS Fire Group. Our fully qualified engineers service all extinguisher types, carry out repairs or replacements where needed, and provide clear documentation to support your compliance.
If you need help meeting your fire extinguisher servicing requirements, get in touch with our team today to arrange your next service visit.
Fire extinguisher maintenance FAQs
- Who’s responsible for arranging fire extinguisher servicing?
- The ‘Responsible Person’ for the premises is legally responsible for ensuring fire extinguishers are properly maintained. This is usually the employer, landlord, building owner, facilities manager, or anyone with control over fire safety within the building. While daily and monthly visual checks may be carried out by trained on-site staff, professional fire extinguisher servicing should be arranged with a competent fire safety provider like City Fire. Keeping clear records of servicing also helps demonstrate that your business is meeting its fire safety responsibilities.
- Can fire extinguishers fail even if they have never been used?
- Yes. A fire extinguisher can fail even if it has never been discharged. Over time, pressure can degrade, hoses can crack, and corrosion can develop internally or externally. Extinguishers can also be knocked, moved, blocked, or tampered with without staff noticing. This is why regular checks and annual servicing are so important. A professional service helps confirm that each unit is still safe, correctly pressurised, and suitable for use in an emergency.
- What records should be kept after fire extinguisher servicing?
- After a professional service, you should keep a record of the visit, including the date of inspection, the extinguishers checked, any faults found, and any repairs or replacements carried out. Each extinguisher should also have an updated service label showing when it was last serviced and when the next service is due. These records form part of your wider fire safety documentation and may be requested during audits, insurance reviews, or fire authority inspections.
- Do new fire extinguishers need servicing straight away?
- New fire extinguishers should be commissioned when they’re installed to confirm they’re correctly positioned, suitable for the risks present, and ready for use. After commissioning, they should be included in your ongoing maintenance schedule. This means visual inspections should begin straight away, and the first annual service should be arranged within the appropriate timeframe. Simply purchasing new extinguishers isn’t enough if they’re not installed and recorded correctly.
- Is fire extinguisher servicing different from a visual inspection?
- Yes. A visual inspection is a basic check carried out by the responsible person or a nominated member of staff to identify obvious issues such as damage, obstruction, missing pins, or pressure loss. Professional fire extinguisher servicing is more detailed and must be carried out by a competent technician. It includes checks on the condition, components, pressure, weight, signage, location, and suitability of each extinguisher. Both are important, but visual checks don’t replace annual servicing.
