Landlord compliance

Fire Extinguisher Testing & Servicing

Annual extinguisher servicing and certification to BS 5306-3 for commercial premises.

From £90 (inc VAT) Certificate issued same day 12-month workmanship guarantee

Book this service 07426 409342

Starting from

£90inc VAT

1–3 extinguishers · annual service to BS 5306-3

Full BS 5306-3 basic service, not a label and a signature

Extinguisher type checked against the actual risks in each area

Positioning and travel distances assessed to BS 5306-8

Extended service and overhaul dates flagged before they fall due

Book online

Overview

What is a Fire Extinguisher Test certificate?

Annual extinguisher servicing to BS 5306-3 covers inspection of every unit, verification of pressure and weight, checking of hoses, horns and safety pins, replacement of seals, and confirmation that each extinguisher is the right type and correctly located for the risks in its area. We record every unit individually and issue a certificate listing each one with its type, location, service date and next due date.

Why it matters

Why it's worth getting right

Extinguishers are the fire safety equipment people are most likely to actually reach for, and the ones most likely to have been sitting untouched for years. Pressure leaks away invisibly, powder compacts into a solid cake that will not discharge, and units get moved, hidden behind stock or quietly taken away during a refit. The other recurring problem is type: using the wrong extinguisher on a fire — water on an electrical fire, or anything but a wet chemical unit on a deep fat fryer — makes the situation dramatically worse rather than better.

Provision and maintenance duties

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to provide appropriate firefighting equipment where necessary, to ensure it is maintained in efficient working order and good repair, and to make sure staff are trained to use it where their duties require. BS 5306-3 sets out the maintenance regime: a basic service annually by a competent person, an extended service every five years for water, foam, powder and wet chemical extinguishers, and a ten-yearly overhaul for CO₂ units. BS 5306-8 governs selection and positioning. The number and type required comes from your fire risk assessment rather than a general rule.

Regulations & standards

The rules this work is carried out to

Every inspection we do is measured against a published standard — here are the ones that apply to this service.

BS 5306-3

Commissioning and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers

Annual basic service, five-yearly extended service, ten-yearly CO₂ overhaul.

BS 5306-8

Selection and positioning of portable fire extinguishers

Determines type, size, quantity and location by risk.

RRO 2005

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Duty to provide, maintain and train on firefighting equipment.

In detail

Understanding your Fire Extinguisher Test

The technical detail behind the certificate — what gets checked, what the results mean, and the decisions that actually affect your property.

Extinguisher types and the fire classes they cover

Extinguishers are matched to fire classes and using the wrong one is dangerous. Water tackles Class A only — wood, paper, textiles — and must never be used on electrical equipment or cooking oil. Foam covers Class A and B, meaning solids and flammable liquids, and is the general-purpose choice for most offices and shops. Dry powder covers A, B and C including flammable gases, but creates a dense cloud that destroys visibility and damages electronics, which is why it is generally restricted to outdoor and industrial use rather than occupied interiors. CO₂ is for electrical fires and Class B, leaves no residue, and is the correct choice near IT and switchgear. Wet chemical is specifically for Class F — cooking oils and fats — and is the only correct extinguisher for a commercial kitchen with a deep fat fryer.

The service cycle: basic, extended and overhaul

BS 5306-3 defines three levels. The basic service is annual and covers external condition, pressure gauge reading, weight verification against the unit's stated full weight, hose and horn condition, anti-tamper seal and safety pin, and correct signage and mounting. The extended service happens every five years for water, foam, powder and wet chemical extinguishers, and involves a full discharge, internal examination and recharge — the only way to confirm the contents have not degraded or compacted. CO₂ extinguishers instead receive a ten-yearly overhaul including hydraulic pressure testing of the cylinder. An extinguisher that has only ever had basic services for fifteen years is not compliant, however good its annual paperwork looks.

Positioning, travel distance and mounting

An extinguisher nobody can find is no use. BS 5306-8 requires that the travel distance to a Class A extinguisher does not exceed 30 metres, with shorter distances for specific higher risks — typically no more than 10 metres to a Class F extinguisher in a kitchen. Units should be mounted on a bracket or stand at a consistent height, with the carrying handle about a metre from the floor for larger units, positioned on escape routes and near exits so people move towards the way out as they collect one. They must be visible and signed. The failures we find repeatedly are extinguishers left on the floor after a refit, hidden behind stock or furniture, or removed from an area entirely without anyone noticing.

Kitchens and the wet chemical requirement

Commercial kitchen fires overwhelmingly involve cooking oil, which is Class F, and this is the single most consequential extinguisher decision in any hospitality premises. Cooking oil ignites at high temperature and holds that heat deep in the fat. Water or foam applied to a burning fryer causes an instantaneous and violent steam explosion that throws burning oil across the kitchen. A wet chemical extinguisher works differently: it discharges a fine mist of potassium salts that reacts with the burning oil to form a soapy crust, sealing the surface and cooling it. Every commercial kitchen with a deep fat fryer needs a wet chemical extinguisher within easy reach, plus a fire blanket, and staff need to know that the powder unit by the back door is not an acceptable substitute.

Warning signs

Extinguisher problems to look for

A monthly visual check will catch all of these, and any one means the unit cannot be relied on:

Pressure gauge needle outside the green band, low or high

A missing, broken or already-released anti-tamper seal or safety pin

Corrosion, dents, or damage to the cylinder, hose or horn

A cracked, perished or blocked hose

Units on the floor rather than mounted on a bracket or stand

Extinguishers hidden behind stock, furniture or doors

No service label, or a service date more than twelve months old

A water or foam extinguisher as the only unit in a kitchen with a fryer

Missing signage above the extinguisher position

The risks

The risk of unserviced extinguishers

This is one of the cheapest compliance items and one of the most visible at inspection:

!An extinguisher that fails to discharge at the moment someone needs it

!Wrong-type use making a fire dramatically worse — water on oil or electrics

!Enforcement notices under the RRO 2005, and unlimited fines

!Insurance claims declined for want of maintenance records

!Failed licensing, landlord and insurer inspections

!Compacted powder in units never given the five-yearly extended service

!Staff who do not know which extinguisher to use, or where it is

Between annual services

Carry out a monthly visual check and record it: gauge in the green, seal and pin intact, unit in its correct position, signage visible, no damage. It takes seconds per extinguisher and catches the majority of problems. Keep units mounted and unobstructed — after any refit or stock change, walk the premises and confirm nothing has been moved or blocked. Make sure staff know the location and type of the nearest extinguisher to their work area, and cover it in induction. Never move extinguishers between areas to fill a gap, since each unit is positioned for a specific risk. Report any discharged unit immediately, however briefly it was used, because a partially discharged extinguisher will not work a second time.

Why us

The benefits of booking your Fire Extinguisher Test with us

Accredited, transparent and built around making compliance easy.

Full BS 5306-3 basic service, not a label and a signature

Extinguisher type checked against the actual risks in each area

Positioning and travel distances assessed to BS 5306-8

Extended service and overhaul dates flagged before they fall due

Combined with alarm, emergency lighting and FRA visits in one appointment

Same-day certificate with a full unit-by-unit schedule

What's included

Everything covered in your Fire Extinguisher Test

One all-inclusive price — here is exactly what the engineer does on site and what you receive afterwards.

Every extinguisher inspected and recorded individually

Pressure gauge verified and weight checked against stated full weight

Hose, horn, safety pin and anti-tamper seal inspected and replaced as needed

Extinguisher type verified as correct for the risks in each area

Position, mounting height, travel distance and signage checked to BS 5306-8

Service label applied with date and next due date

Extended service and overhaul requirements flagged before they fall due

Certificate listing every unit with type, location, service date and next due date

Pricing

Simple, all-inclusive pricing

The price you see is the price you pay — VAT included, with no hidden call-out fees. Your final price depends on the size of your property; we'll confirm an exact, all-inclusive quote before we attend.

Fire Extinguisher Test from

£90inc VAT

1–3 extinguishers · annual service to BS 5306-3

Get my exact price

All prices include VAT · 12-month workmanship guarantee

Fire extinguisher servicing pricing

Number of extinguishers	Price (inc VAT)
1–3 extinguishers	£90.00
3–6 extinguishers	£110.00
6–10 extinguishers	£145.00
10–15 extinguishers	£185.00
15–20 extinguishers	£215.00

All prices include VAT and the annual basic service to BS 5306-3. Five-yearly extended services, ten-yearly CO₂ overhauls and replacement units are quoted separately and always flagged in advance of falling due.

Prices are all-inclusive of VAT with no hidden call-out fees. Where they genuinely apply, parking (£5) and the London Congestion Charge (£18) are passed on at cost and always shown up front.

The process

How your appointment works

Simple, transparent and designed around you and your tenants.

Step 1

Survey the premises

Every extinguisher is located and recorded, and provision is checked against the risks and travel distances in each area.

Step 2

Service each unit

Pressure, weight, hose, horn, pin and seal are checked, with seals and pins replaced as required.

Step 3

Verify type and position

Each unit is confirmed as the correct type for its area — particularly wet chemical provision in kitchens — and correctly mounted and signed.

Step 4

Label and certify

Service labels are applied with the next due date, and your certificate lists every unit individually.

FAQs

Fire Extinguisher Test — frequently asked questions

A basic service annually by a competent person. In addition, water, foam, powder and wet chemical units need an extended service every five years involving discharge, internal inspection and recharge, and CO₂ units need a ten-yearly overhaul with hydraulic testing.

A wet chemical extinguisher, which is the only type suitable for Class F cooking oil fires, plus a fire blanket. Using water or foam on a burning fryer causes a violent steam explosion that throws burning oil across the kitchen. A powder unit by the back door is not a substitute.

It comes from your fire risk assessment and BS 5306-8, based on the risks present and travel distances — generally no more than 30 metres to a Class A extinguisher, and around 10 metres to a Class F unit in a kitchen. We assess provision as part of the service rather than just servicing what happens to be there.

For a single-family let, usually not — the priority is detection and escape rather than firefighting, and untrained occupants should be leaving, not fighting a fire. HMOs and buildings with communal areas often do require them, as specified by the fire risk assessment. We will tell you honestly if you do not need them.

No. The gauge shows pressure at that moment; it says nothing about whether the powder inside has compacted, whether the hose has perished internally, or whether the unit is due its five-yearly extended service. Compacted powder in a unit showing perfect pressure is a common and dangerous failure.

Book now

Book your Fire Extinguisher Test today

Fill in the form and we'll confirm your appointment and an all-inclusive price, usually within the hour. Prefer to talk? Call us and we'll book you in within two minutes.

Call our team

07426 409342

Mon–Sat · bookings confirmed in under 2 minutes