Posted By Jim Sweetman Richard, You sound as if you may have fallen foul of a common problem. I would advise that you delve a little bit into the veracity of the responses/comments that you have been given. Someone may have been a little off-hand. If your building has been refurbished and existing extinguishers have been put back in position, then so long as they in good condition/tested etc, they are quite valid. The EN re. single colour extinguishers does not require extinguishers to be changed on the grounds of colour alone. Provided they are suitable they are still acceptable. If new extinguishers are being provided, then they must meet the single colour requirements. We all take short cuts, so it's not surprising that a designer may try and take credit for using what is already available. After all, a nice chrome finish will invariably fit in with the modern look. Regards Jim Sweetman

Posted By Peter Rees Richard, I sympathise with your dilemma. However, before you spend any money replacing any extinguishers look carefully at the colour coding that is on each extinguisher. By this I refer to both the base colour and the text colour. When the Europeans changed the relevant legislation it was agreed that some form of colour coding be retained within the UK. The agreement allowed for a 5% colour coding to be included onto new extinguishers. This 5% includes both the base colour and the text. Therefore, it is possible to see a CO2 extinguisher with base colour red and text (large enough to cover the 5% of the extinguisher) in black to denote the CO2. The alternative to this is the black ring around the extinguisher, which again would cover the 5%. Personally, I agree with a previous response that mentioned that you can place a sign above the extinguisher point showing what type it is - this would certainly avoid any of the above confusion. Pete

Posted By Peter Rees Richard, You don't specify, but I assume that the extinguisher is a water extinguisher? This assumption has been made due to the red text. If this is a correct assumption, then I don't see that any safety regs have been breached. (Obviously, if it is a CO2 then the text should be black and the designers are at fault.) Pete

Posted By Richard Gary See my response of 11 Oct (two up from here!). This is newbuild from greenfield, and new equipment under a new contract. I still believe the manufacturer should not even be making this colour extinguisher for the home market. With reference to one of your responses on another contemporary thread, I am a not a fire specialist, and am already with other specialist groups. However I fully support the work of your group, and find your responses extremely valuable and informative, even where they do have direct relevance to my particular field. Keep up the good work! Richard

Posted By JOD In addition to you being unhappy with the use of these extinguishers in the building I would suggest that you ensure that it is raised with your insurers. It is my understanding that although, as previously stated, the extinguishers are NOT contravening any fire safety legislation, some insurance companies specify that extinguishers used must be in accordance with the EC directive.

Posted By Jay Joshi PUWER is "user" - not "supplier" set of regulations. The European Standard for Fire Extinguishers is BS EN 3 - (various parts), which we all know is the red one with 5% allowed for mmarking in the "original" colour code. It would be interesting to know to what British or other standard are the new Chrome types are manufactured to ?? and also whether for e.g.these get the approval from bodies such as LPCB