Fire Extinguisher
Testing & Service
Annual maintenance and certification of portable fire fighting equipment. Ensure your extinguishers are ready when you need them.
- BAFE Registered Engineers
- Service Labels Included
- Asset Register Created
- Immediate Certificate
Service Rates
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Fire Extinguisher Testing and Servicing Rates
Transparent pricing for maintenance and commissioning.
| Service | Price (Inc VAT) | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 Fire Extinguisher | £80* | |
| 3-6 Fire Extinguisher | £100* | |
| 6-10 Fire Extinguisher | £135* | |
| 10-15 Fire Extinguisher | £175* | |
| 15-20 Fire Extinguisher | £205* |
Your Fire Extinguisher Testing Guide
Everything a London landlord, managing agent or business owner needs to know about fire extinguisher testing, in the order people usually ask it. Jump straight to the part you need.
- What the annual service actually is
- The law and your legal duties
- What BS 5306 asks for
- Extinguisher classes explained
- Commissioning a new extinguisher
- The annual basic service
- Extended service and overhaul
- Siting, mounting and signage
- Monthly checks and the logbook
- Who needs an annual service?
- HMOs, offices and commercial units
- Booking your visit in London
Why Service Extinguishers? Fire Extinguisher Testing Explained
Fire extinguishers are pressurised vessels that can degrade over time. To ensure they work when you need them most, British Standard 5306-3 requires them to be serviced annually by a competent person.
This applies to all business premises, HMOs (communal areas), and public buildings. Failure to maintain them invalidates your insurance and Fire Risk Assessment.
Pressure Check
Verifying the gauge is in the green zone and the vessel is holding correct pressure.
Weight Check
Ensuring the unit hasn't lost contents (especially critical for CO2 extinguishers).
Hose & Horn
Checking for blockages, cracks, or fraying in the discharge hose or nozzle.
Safety Pin
Testing the safety pin moves freely and replacing the tamper-proof seal (ok indicator).
Service Intervals
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1Y
Basic Service
Annual check required by law for all extinguisher types.
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5Y
Extended Service
Every 5 years, water, foam, and powder units need a discharge test and refill.
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10Y
Overhaul (CO2)
CO2 extinguishers must be factory overhauled or replaced every 10 years.
Did you know?
The annual visit is not the whole duty. The responsible person is also expected to carry out a brief visual check every month and record it in the fire safety logbook.
What Is Fire Extinguisher Testing?
A portable extinguisher is a pressure vessel that spends years doing nothing at all, and is then expected to work perfectly the first time somebody pulls the pin. Fire extinguisher testing is the annual, hands-on inspection that proves it still will: the engineer weighs the unit, checks the pressure, strips and re-seats the moving parts, replaces the perishable components and signs a service label that carries the date and their name.
It is not a glance from the doorway. A competent technician takes the extinguisher off its bracket, examines the body for corrosion, dents and paint damage, checks the hose and horn for splits and blockages, confirms the safety pin moves freely, replaces the O-rings and the tamper indicator, and returns the unit to a correctly signed position. On CO2 units the weight is compared against the figure stamped on the neck, because a leaking CO2 extinguisher gives no other warning.
The output is threefold: a dated service label on every unit, a certificate for your records, and an asset register listing each extinguisher by type, size, location and next service date. That register is the document a fire officer, an insurer or an HMO licensing officer will actually ask to see, and it is what turns a cupboard full of red cylinders into evidence of a managed system.
Fire extinguisher testing and the law
The duty comes from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually shortened to the Fire Safety Order or the RRO. It applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, and to the common parts of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation. Individual private flats behind their own front door are outside it; the shared staircase, lobby, bin store and plant room are not.
The Order places responsibility on a named responsible person — the employer, the owner, the landlord or the managing agent, depending on who controls the premises. Among their duties is a requirement to provide appropriate firefighting equipment where necessary, and to keep that equipment subject to a suitable system of maintenance so that it is in efficient working order and good repair. Buying extinguishers is only half of it; proving they are maintained is the other half.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 later clarified that the Order also covers the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings, which is why fire safety paperwork for London blocks has been scrutinised far more closely in recent years. Enforcement sits with the local fire and rescue authority, and serious or persistent breaches of the Order can result in prosecution and unlimited fines.
The government’s plain-English summary of these duties is published as fire safety guidance for responsible persons on GOV.UK. Fire safety law is reviewed regularly, so check the current guidance before relying on any summary, including this one.
What BS 5306 asks for
The Order says equipment must be maintained but does not say how. The recognised method is the BS 5306 family of British Standards, and an engineer working to it is what a fire officer or insurer means by a competent person.
- BS 5306-3 covers commissioning and maintenance of portable extinguishers — the basic annual service, the extended service, and the overhaul intervals for each media type.
- BS 5306-8 covers selection and positioning — how many extinguishers you need, which media suit which risk, how far anyone should have to walk to reach one, and how they should be mounted and signed.
Neither standard is law in itself. Both are the yardstick against which your arrangements are judged, and departing from them means being able to justify why. In practice, an annual visit worked to BS 5306-3 with an asset register at the end of it is the cheapest way to close the question for another twelve months.
Fire Extinguisher Testing: Our Service Procedure
Our rigorous 20-point check ensures complete compliance.
Visual Check
Checking for corrosion, dents, or signs of tampering.
Weighing
Verifying contents match the manufacture weight.
Parts
Replacing O-rings, washers, and tamper seals.
Label
Updating the service label with date, weight, and engineer signature.
Extinguisher Classes and What They Fight
Fires are graded by class, and so are extinguishers
British and European practice sorts fires into classes by what is burning: Class A for carbonaceous solids such as paper, wood and textiles; Class B for flammable liquids; Class C for flammable gases; Class D for metals; and Class F for cooking oils and fats. Electrical fires sit outside the lettering because electricity is an ignition source rather than a fuel, but they drive the choice of media just as strongly.
Getting this wrong is worse than having nothing. Water on a live distribution board or a chip pan does not put the fire out; it conducts, or it throws burning oil across the room. Part of the annual visit is checking that the extinguishers on your wall still match the risks in the room, because rooms change use far more often than extinguishers get replaced.
Matching media to the risk in each room
Most London premises end up with a small, deliberate mix rather than one media everywhere. A typical office floor runs water or foam for the general Class A risk and CO2 beside the comms cabinet and the kitchenette. A restaurant adds wet chemical in the kitchen. A plant room or a workshop with fuel or solvents leans on foam or powder. A block of flats normally carries water or foam in the communal areas and CO2 near the intake cupboard.
Powder deserves a specific warning. It is versatile and it works, but discharged indoors it drops visibility to near zero in seconds, contaminates everything it touches and can make escape harder rather than easier. Current guidance is to avoid powder inside occupied buildings except where a specific risk justifies it, and to use it outdoors, in plant rooms and on vehicles instead. Where we find powder units in a corridor we will say so in the report rather than quietly re-labelling them.
Choosing the Right Extinguisher for the Risk
Five media cover almost every London premises. The annual visit checks that the units on your wall still match the risks in the room.
Water
The traditional red-label unit for carbonaceous solids: paper, wood, textiles and general office waste.
Foam (AFFF)
The workhorse of most offices and communal areas. Covers solids and flammable liquids such as paints and fuels.
Carbon Dioxide
For flammable liquids and live electrical equipment. Leaves no residue, so it suits comms rooms and intake cupboards.
Dry Powder
Versatile and effective on solids, liquids and gases, but it destroys visibility indoors and contaminates everything nearby.
Wet Chemical
Designed for cooking oils and fats. Essential in commercial kitchens, canteens and takeaways.
Commissioning, Annual Service and Extended Service
Commissioning: the service a new extinguisher needs on day one
Buying extinguishers online and hanging them on a bracket does not make a building compliant. Under BS 5306-3 a new extinguisher must be commissioned on site before it counts as being in service. Commissioning means unpacking and assembling the unit, fitting the hose or horn, confirming the pressure and the fill weight against the manufacturer’s figures, checking the safety pin and tamper seal, mounting it in the position chosen under BS 5306-8, and recording the whole thing on a commissioning certificate.
It is a short job and it is not expensive, but it is the point at which an extinguisher stops being a boxed product and starts being firefighting equipment under the Fire Safety Order. Every extinguisher we supply is commissioned as part of the visit, and every extinguisher already on your wall gets its commissioning status checked at the first service.
The annual basic service, year in and year out
Every extinguisher of every type needs a basic service once a year. That interval is the backbone of the standard and the one that insurers check first. The engineer works through a fixed sequence: external condition, correct siting and signage, pressure indication, weight against the stamped figure, hose and horn condition, operating mechanism and safety pin, replacement of O-rings, washers and the tamper indicator, then a new service label carrying the date, the weight and the engineer’s signature.
Where a unit fails it is condemned rather than patched. We tell you on the day, quote for a replacement, and remove the old cylinder for safe disposal as pressurised hazardous waste. Nothing gets a label it does not deserve, because a label is a statement someone else will rely on in an emergency.
Extended service at five years, overhaul at ten
On top of the annual visit, water, water-based, foam and powder extinguishers need an extended service every five years. The unit is fully discharged to prove the mechanism works under real pressure, then stripped, internally examined, refilled and recharged. It is the only way to find a blocked pick-up tube or a compacted powder charge, both of which look perfectly healthy from the outside.
Carbon dioxide extinguishers follow a different route. Because they are high-pressure gas cylinders they are subject to a ten-yearly overhaul, which in practice means a pressure test at a specialist facility or, more often now, a straight replacement. Comparing the cost of transport, testing and recharge against a new unit usually settles the argument on its own.
We flag these dates on the asset register a year ahead so that a five-year or ten-year liability never lands as a surprise. If you have inherited a building with no records at all, the first visit rebuilds that timeline from the manufacture dates stamped on the cylinders.
What Happens During Fire Extinguisher Testing?
1. External Condition
The unit comes off the bracket and is examined all round for corrosion, dents, bulging, flaking paint and damage to the label. A cylinder that has been dropped, kicked along a corridor or stored in a damp bin room shows it, and body damage on a pressure vessel is a condemn rather than a repair.
2. Pressure and Gauge
Stored pressure units carry a gauge that must read within the green sector. The engineer checks the needle against the operating range and, where the design allows it, verifies the reading rather than trusting the dial. A gauge sitting hard against the pin is as suspicious as one reading zero.
3. Weight Against the Stamp
Every extinguisher carries a full weight, either printed on the label or stamped into the neck ring. The unit is weighed and compared. This is the only reliable way to detect a slow leak on a CO2 extinguisher, which has no gauge at all, and it catches partial discharge on water and foam units.
4. Hose, Horn and Nozzle
The discharge assembly is removed and inspected for splits, perishing, fraying and internal blockage, and the horn on a CO2 unit is checked for cracks at the swivel. A blocked pick-up tube or a perished hose turns a full extinguisher into an ornament, and neither is visible without taking the assembly apart.
5. Operating Mechanism and Seals
The safety pin is withdrawn and replaced to confirm it moves freely, the headcap and valve are checked, and the perishable components are renewed as a matter of course: O-rings, washers and a new tamper indicator. These parts are included in our price rather than added afterwards.
6. Labelling and Records
A new service label is applied showing the date, the weight and the signature of the engineer, the extinguisher is returned to its correct position under the identification sign, and the details go onto your asset register. The logbook entry is completed before the engineer leaves site.
Siting, Signage and Monthly Checks
Siting, mounting and signage
An extinguisher nobody can find is an extinguisher nobody can use. BS 5306-8 sets out where they should go: on escape routes, near the exits people will actually run towards, close to the specific risk where one exists, and grouped into recognisable fire points rather than scattered at random.
Mounting height matters too. The usual practice is a carrying handle around one metre from the floor for heavier units and around 1.5 metres for lighter ones, on a bracket or a stand rather than propped against a wall. Each position carries an identification sign above it so the media is obvious from a distance, and the extinguisher stays visible and unobstructed — not behind a door, a coat rack or a stack of deliveries.
How many do you actually need?
There is no single number, because provision follows the risk rather than the floor area alone. As a general guide, BS 5306-8 points premises towards a minimum of two Class A extinguishers on each floor, positioned so that nobody has to travel more than about 30 metres to reach one, with additional units for specific risks such as kitchens, comms rooms, plant rooms and fuel stores.
The document that settles it for your building is your fire risk assessment. It identifies the hazards, the people at risk and the escape routes, and the extinguisher provision falls out of that analysis. If your assessment is out of date, sorting it before you buy hardware usually saves money rather than costing it.
Monthly checks and the fire logbook
Between annual visits the responsible person is expected to carry out a simple visual check each month and record it. It takes minutes per floor and needs no tools. Is the extinguisher in its designated position? Is the sign still there and still readable? Is the pressure gauge in the green? Is the tamper seal intact and the pin in place? Is there any obvious damage, corrosion or evidence of use?
Record each check in the fire logbook alongside your alarm tests and emergency lighting tests. That book, plus the asset register and the annual certificate, is the complete evidence pack for extinguishers — and it is exactly what an enforcing officer asks for first. We leave the logbook entry completed at every visit so the trail never breaks.
Who Needs Fire Extinguisher Testing in London?
Almost every premises in London that is not a single private dwelling needs extinguishers maintained to a schedule. The obligation follows the responsible person under the Fire Safety Order, so the question is rarely whether an annual service is required but who in the chain is going to arrange it.
- Landlords and freeholders of blocks of flats, for the communal stairs, lobbies, bin stores and plant rooms.
- HMO landlords and managing agents, where extinguisher and detection provision is written into the licence conditions.
- Employers and business tenants in offices, shops, salons, warehouses, studios and restaurants.
- Schools, nurseries, places of worship and community halls, where the enforcing officer visits more often than most.
- Construction sites and empty buildings, which need provision from first occupation of the site, not from handover.
Homeowners in an ordinary house are not covered by the Order and are not obliged to maintain anything. An extinguisher in the kitchen is still a sensible purchase, and it still needs the same annual attention if it is going to work.
HMOs, offices and commercial units
Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England where five or more people from two or more households share a property, and a great many London boroughs operate additional or selective schemes on top of that. Licence conditions routinely specify extinguisher provision in the communal areas together with evidence of maintenance, so the annual certificate and the asset register belong with the licence paperwork rather than buried in a property file.
Commercial premises are judged against the same standard but usually carry a wider mix of media, more units and more specific risks. Offices, restaurants, salons, gyms and light industrial units across London all sit within our normal coverage, and larger sites are quoted on the number of extinguishers rather than a headline rate.
Extinguishers are one part of a building’s fire strategy, not the whole of it. Most clients pair this service with a fire risk assessment, a fire alarm installation or service, a fire door inspection and an overall fire safety certificate. Booking them together means one visit, one set of paperwork and one renewal date to remember.
Do You Want To Book Multiple Services?
Combine your extinguisher service with a fire risk assessment and fire alarm testing. One appointment, one engineer, and significant savings.
Extinguishers
BS 5306 Service
Fire Risk
Risk Assessment
Fire Alarm
BS 5839 Testing
★ BUNDLE DISCOUNT APPLIED AUTOMATICALLY
Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers on service intervals, extinguisher types and what the British Standard expects of you.
Commissioning is the initial service of a new extinguisher. It involves assembling the hose, checking pressure, and verifying the unit is fit for service at its specific location. Buying an extinguisher online does not mean it is compliant; it must be commissioned on-site.
This depends on the size of your premises and risks. Generally, for a small office/shop (up to 200sqm), you need at least two Class A extinguishers (e.g., Water/Foam) and a CO2 for electrical risks. Your Fire Risk Assessment should specify this.
Yes. In indoor environments, powder extinguishers are generally not recommended due to visibility reduction when discharged. If you have them, they need careful checking to ensure the powder hasn't compacted at the bottom.
Yes, we can safely remove and condemn old or condemned extinguishers. As they are pressurized vessels and hazardous waste, there is a disposal fee per unit.
Yes. You should perform a visual check monthly (is it in place? has it been used?) and record this in your fire safety logbook. The engineer will record the annual service there too.
For a typical London flat block or small office with up to ten units, allow around 30 to 60 minutes on site. Larger commercial premises with a mixed inventory take longer, and we confirm the expected duration when we quote.
The basic service happens every year on every extinguisher and is an external and mechanical inspection. The extended service happens every five years on water, foam and powder units and involves a full discharge, internal examination, refill and recharge.
Not necessarily. We collect keys from agents across London at no extra charge, and for communal areas we usually only need access to the stairs, lobbies and plant rooms. Just tell us the access arrangements when you book.
Booking Fire Extinguisher Testing in London
Fire extinguisher testing is priced on the number of units, starting at £80.00 for one to three extinguishers, £80.00 for three to six and £100.00 for six to ten. Larger sites are quoted on the same basis, and every price is all inclusive of parts, service labels and the certificate.
We work across all 32 London boroughs and the surrounding M25 area, with key collection from agents at no extra charge and evening or weekend slots where a business cannot lose trading hours. Tell us roughly how many extinguishers you have and what the building is used for, and we will confirm the price before the engineer sets off.
Book your annual service online in a couple of minutes, or call the office and we will talk it through. If you are not sure what you have on the wall, book the smallest band and the engineer will confirm the count on site.
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Fire Extinguisher Testing & Servicing Service Areas in London
We cover all 32 London boroughs, including North London, East London, South London, West London, and central districts. Fast dispatch for: