Fire extinguisher servicing: how often, what it costs, and who can do it
Extinguishers must be maintained under the Fire Safety Order, and BS 5306-3 sets the schedule: monthly visual checks, an annual basic service and an extended service at five or ten years. Here is what each service involves, what it typically costs and how to check a provider is competent.
INFIRISK Team·4 min read·
Fire extinguishers are the one piece of fire safety kit almost every workplace has, and one of the easiest to get wrong. They need servicing on a fixed schedule, by someone competent, and the law does not leave much room for interpretation. This guide covers how often extinguishers need servicing, what each type of service involves, what you should expect to pay, and how to check that the person servicing them knows what they are doing.
The legal position
In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to virtually all non domestic premises. Article 17 of the Order requires the responsible person, usually the employer, owner or occupier, to keep firefighting equipment maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. An extinguisher that has not been serviced is hard to defend as any of those things, and after an incident it is one of the first things a fire investigator will look at.
The recognised way to meet that duty for portable extinguishers is to follow BS 5306-3, the British Standard covering their commissioning and maintenance.
The servicing schedule
BS 5306-3 sets out a layered schedule. In plain terms:
Monthly visual checks, done in house. Someone on your staff confirms each extinguisher is in its designated place, unobstructed, visible, has its safety pin and tamper seal intact, shows a gauge reading in the green zone, and has no obvious damage or corrosion. Keep a simple record.
Basic service, every 12 months. A competent service technician examines each extinguisher: weight, pressure, hoses and horns, safety devices, corrosion, legibility of instructions, and the service label is updated. This is the standard annual visit.
Extended service, every 5 years. For water, foam and powder extinguishers, the extinguisher is discharged, examined internally, refilled and repressurised.
Overhaul, every 10 years. CO2 extinguishers are pressure vessels, so at 10 years they require a full overhaul including a hydraulic pressure test. In practice many providers swap them for replacements because the overhaul costs more than a new unit.
Commissioning service, on installation. A new extinguisher should be commissioned on site by a competent person before it goes into service. Extinguishers delivered by post and simply hung on a wall have skipped this step.
Who is allowed to service them
The law says maintenance must be carried out by a competent person. BS 5306-3 expects that person to have passed a recognised course covering the standard, to hold the right tools and manufacturer information, and to have their competence reassessed periodically.
The simplest way to check competence is third party certification. BAFE SP101 is the recognised registration scheme for extinguisher service organisations and their technicians in the UK. A BAFE registered provider has been independently assessed, and individual technicians carry registration cards you can ask to see. Certification is not a legal requirement in itself, but if you use a registered provider the competence question effectively answers itself.
Prices vary by provider, region and how many extinguishers you have, so treat these as rough guides rather than quotes:
A basic annual service is commonly priced per extinguisher, often somewhere in the range of £5 to £15 per unit plus VAT, usually with a minimum charge or technician visit fee on top. Some national providers advertise headline rates below £5 per unit, which is where the pitfalls below come in.
Extended services and refills cost more, since the extinguisher is discharged and refilled. Depending on type and size this can approach the price of a new extinguisher.
Replacement is sometimes the sensible option. For CO2 units at the 10 year point, and for smaller powder units at extended service, a new extinguisher can cost less than the work.
The headline per unit price is rarely where the real money is. Parts, refills, replacements and condemned units are where bills grow, so ask for a written quote that states the per unit service price, the call out or minimum charge, and the price list for common parts and replacement units before anyone touches your extinguishers.
Common pitfalls
Teaser pricing. A very low advertised per unit price recovered through marked up parts and replacements. The written price list solves this.
Unnecessary condemning. If a technician condemns a large number of your extinguishers in one visit, ask for the reason against each unit in writing, and get a second opinion before paying for a full set of replacements.
Missed commissioning. Extinguishers bought online and self installed have usually never been commissioned. Have them commissioned at the next service visit and keep the record.
No service records. The service label on each extinguisher and your own log book are your evidence of compliance. If a provider does not update both, that is a red flag.
Getting quotes
Extinguisher servicing is a competitive market and prices for the same visit vary widely, so it is worth comparing two or three providers. You can browse accredited extinguisher companies in our fire extinguisher services directory, or post your requirements once and let providers come to you with quotes.
