Extinguisher Refilling: The Most Neglected Aspect of Fire Safety

A fire extinguisher is essential equipment for any premise to safeguard life and property against fire. There is absolutely no second chance when a fire extinguisher is required to fight fire. It has to be first time right.  The fire extinguisher if used (even partially) cannot be reused in the successive fire scenario. It needs to be refilled again. So every single hour that goes in waiting for the extinguisher to be refilled is like sitting on a ticking time bomb.

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Also, the statutory body makes it mandatory for the shell of the fire extinguisher to undergo Hydrostatic Pressure Test every 3 years, to check its pressure bearing capacity (burst capacity). This is a crucial step in safety of fire extinguisher because fire extinguishers are pressurised and their container body and other parts are constantly under stress. This continuous stress leads to slow and a gradual deterioration of the extinguisher body and its components. Even a small leak can lead to a fatal explosion in a premise.

But, the grim reality is that the initial quality conscience safety stakeholders’ obvious choice for best fire fighting capabilities gets diluted over time and the more often the refilling and maintenance of fire extinguishers goes to local vendor.

Local vendors neither have the competency nor the capability to service the extinguisher. Since they do not follow any guidelines and have any quality audits the quality and efficiency of extinguisher is highly compromised.

Local vendors don’t refurbish the extinguisher; they do a mere touch-up job which includes:Only re-pressurizing of the cylinderNo component of the extinguisher is actually changed as a process. Only broken / dis functional parts are changed with local spares.Old extinguishing agent is re-usedThese days marble dust & chalk powder are being added to extinguishing agent rampantlyExtinguishers are often repainted using the spray painting mechanism. This poor body paint soon flakes off leaving the extinguisher prone to rust & corrosion.  Such negligence on their part may cut temporary cost if any; however in case of a fire incident the repercussions are humongous. ​ Ceasefire, a name synonymous to quality in fire-fighting follows a set protocol for its refilling process. Every refilling procedure includes discharging the old agent, de-stressing and hydrostatic pressure testing and then refilling the shell with new extinguishing agent every single time it is refilled. All discharge fitments including Valves, O Rings, Hosepipes, etc. are replaced with brand new ones.

​Most importantly, with Ceasefire there is no downtime in your fire-security plan. Ceasefire replaces your used extinguisher with re-furbished one instantly, ensuring there is no loop-hole in your fire security plan.