Portable Fire Extinguishers Should Be Checked Monthly
Performing an annual maintenance inspection of portable fire extinguishers in the workplace is not enough to satisfy OSHA. The agency says you must inspect them more frequently to ensure they will work when they are needed. This means you must perform monthly checks. The monthly checks of portable fire extinguishers are not supposed to be as detailed as the annual maintenance inspections. After the annual inspections, you must keep your records on file for a year to be able to prove you performed these inspections.
The rules for monthly checks are not as stringent. You must only perform a visual inspection each month. There is not the same requirement to keep written records, but it is not a bad idea to keep them in case an inspector ever doubts you performed the monthly visual checks.
For more information, visit 29 CFR 1910.157.
