Will Get a copy or borrow from the library BS EN 3 part 7 or obtain the services of a reputable company or individual providing fire extinguisher maintenance. BTW colour of handle will have no impact.

Your fire extinguisher company should be taking care of this on their annual vists so they are best places to recommend. But yes what has been said above is correct. One thing to watch is if the whole handle and the part that screw into the extinguishers are plastic as these should either be replaced or at least checked by the engineer as there are issue of them failing due to the material they are made off. Phil

Don't see any problem with someone asking for reference document relating to pfe requirements myself. Can any of us say we no all there is to know

we all have our problems

Slightly off topic but with respect to appointing fire extinguisher contractors, I met a fire extinguisher service engineer from a well known organisation. He told me that he was told to condemn 5% of the extinguishers he inspected to generate turnover. Whether that is true or not I don't know but on hearing about it the company I was visiting decided to split the maintenance and purchase of extinguishers between two companies, one would supply and one would maintain. So if the service engineer condemned an extinguisher it would be the rival company that supplied the new extinguisher.

Apologies if I've told this tale before, but I have had the opposite problem to Shaun: during a routine audit I found two extinguishers that had been inspected, serviced and failed: The engineer had neatly written "FAILED" on the label, signed it, and put the extinguisher back on the in-service hook! Unfortunately the extinguishers were in a landlord-controlled part of the building - within our area we use a different, apparently reliable contractor, but in that area the landlord controls the contractor and the landlord is the only one who sees the service reports. In context, sadly dodgy fire extinguisher maintenance is not the biggest issue my colleagues and I have with that landlord, so it's just one more thing on the list. (and yes before anyone says it...I know FE maintenance is a big deal - just that it still isn't the biggest...)

1994 I was between jobs and trained with a fire engineering company as a fire inspector, mostly small shops and small businesses, it was cold calling and pay was on a commission basis only. I trained alongside the people who would do the fire extinguisher service and maintenance and we were all told to service all extinguishers in the back of the van, that way the customer was unable to see what we did, i.e. bash the pressure gauge with a hammer and organise a replacement that we provided. Fortunately that company has since gone out of business but it would not surprise me if the directors are still in business. Shaun's info should be taken on board by everyone, or have a current employee trained in service and maintenance, I did some years ago and that certainly worked.

Ha - I haven't come across this personally with extinguishers (there are only a couple of reputable fire system maintenance companies I utilise in Perth/WA and these have some major, but very "touchy," clients that would drop them on a dime if they suspected anything untoward going on) but did have something similar with a large firm that inspected & serviced our first aid kits at a previous employer.. When I started in an OH&S Coordinator role with that company I did an audit of our first aid facilities and was amazed to find the most thoroughly stocked first aid kits I have ever seen in a crib room haha. They had the large wall mounted kits absolutely PACKED - to the point of making it difficult to close the door - with enough bits and pieces to start your own chemist. I noted everything in there, and conducted another audit a few days prior to their follow up visit 6 months later, and found that they were routinely replacing a great deal of things which were never being used (and were WELL within use by dates) along with putting in virtually anything they had available that we didn't already have 10 of... Needless to say that contract was subsequently brought to a close after I pointed out that (1) I was perfectly capable of managing our first aid kits myself and re-stocking as necessary from a much cheaper supplier; and (2) we were being charged more to "service" these first aid kits each 6 months than what it would cost to purchase a whole new kit every 12 months.. I am always wary now of any contract that allows any company to supply products and/or services as they feel fit... who wouldn't use this situation to make a little extra cash? It's a license to print money!