It’s not enough to have fire safety equipment. It needs to be maintained and serviced in order to do its job when the time comes.

How frequently you get your fire safety equipment serviced depends on the type of equipment you have and where you keep them.

Fire Extinguishers

A fire extinguisher should be serviced every six months. For a fee your local fire service may offer servicing. All fire extinguishers should have their pressure gauges checked monthly by the health and safety officer in your workplace. If the pressure has dropped, the local fire service should be asked to service the extinguisher.

On commercial premises all extinguishers should be fitted with yellow tags for reporting the previous service and maintenance dates. If you see an extinguisher at your workplace that isn’t fitted with a testing tag you should report it to your manager or to the health and safety officer on site.

Smoke Alarms

Most new buildings have smoke alarms hard wired into the structure with a battery back-up system. Older buildings and homes have alarms that are battery powered only. Regardless of whether your smoke alarms are hard wired or battery powered, they should be tested every six months and battery powered alarms should have the batteries changed every six months to ensure they are fully operational and reliable.

Fire safety equipment that may need servicing

• Fire Extinguishers
• Smoke Alarms
• Fire Hydrants: these will be maintained by the local fire service
• Fire Reels: these should be tested bi-annually for defects and wear
• Fire Suppression Blankets: these should also be checked bi-annually to ensure they are effective.
• Fire Gear – if the premises have helmets or other fire-fighting equipment it should be checked every six months.
• Emergency Lighting – this should be checked on a regular basis. This can be done by OHS Officers.

As fire equipment can go for years without being used, it may wear and develop defects without notice. As a result, all fire protection, fire-fighting, fire regulators and fire safety equipment and gear should be checked regularly by a professional.