Fire extinguisher service & recharge

What fire extinguisher service actually includes

NFPA 10 sets three separate requirements, and they are commonly confused. Missing any one of them is a citation at your next fire inspection.

Monthly inspection — you do this

A quick visual check by your own staff: the extinguisher is in its place, unobstructed, the gauge reads in the green, the pin and seal are intact, and there is no visible damage. It gets initialed on the tag. Inspectors look at this tag, and a gap in initials is one of the easiest citations to write.

Annual maintenance — we do this

A licensed technician performs a thorough examination of the mechanical parts, extinguishing agent and expelling means, then attaches a new service tag. This is required every twelve months regardless of whether the extinguisher has been used.

Hydrostatic testing — every 5 or 12 years

The cylinder is pressure-tested to verify it can still safely hold its charge. Intervals depend on extinguisher type — commonly five years for water and wet chemical, twelve years for dry chemical. This is the requirement most often missed, because the interval is long enough that people forget it exists.

Recharge after any use

If an extinguisher has been discharged at all — even a short burst — it must be recharged. A partially used extinguisher is not a working extinguisher.

Common questions

How often do commercial fire extinguishers need to be serviced?

A visual inspection monthly by your staff, and a professional maintenance service annually by a licensed technician. Hydrostatic testing follows a separate schedule based on extinguisher type.

What does fire extinguisher service cost?

Annual service is typically priced per unit, with the rate depending on how many extinguishers are at the site and their type and size. Recharge and hydrostatic testing are quoted separately because they depend on what the technician finds. We quote per site rather than over the phone.

Can I service my own extinguishers?

You can and should perform the monthly visual inspection yourself. Annual maintenance, recharge and hydrostatic testing must be performed by qualified personnel with the proper equipment and licensing.

What happens if my extinguishers are out of date at an inspection?

You will typically receive a correction notice with a deadline set by your authority having jurisdiction. Bringing extinguishers current is usually straightforward, but it has to be documented in a form the AHJ will accept.

Where we work

We provide commercial fire extinguisher service across Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, including Tacoma, Bremerton, Silverdale, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Gig Harbor, Olympia, Shelton, Allyn, Sequim, Port Angeles and Port Townsend.

Restaurants, warehouses, offices, multifamily buildings, schools and industrial sites. If you have a route of extinguishers across multiple locations, we can put them on one schedule and one report.