Free checklist
Portable fire extinguisher annual maintenance checklist
The annual portable fire extinguisher service is the deep pass: the measurements, cleanings and tests a quarterly round doesn't reach. This checklist keeps the full service on record with the photos that make it defensible later. Work is commonly verified against NFPA 10. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.
The checklist
Every item, and the photo evidence it needs
The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.
Before the visit
Owner told the service visit window
Owner and area contacts told when the company will be on site and which units may be pulled, with the owner's impairment procedure ready for any unit leaving.
No photoService company license and technician credentials checked
Company's extinguisher servicing license and the technician's credentials checked current for the jurisdiction before work starts, copies kept on file.
No photo
Service observed
Every unit on the floor plan accounted for
Each extinguisher on the site's list reached and serviced, none passed over because access was awkward, count reconciled.
Maintenance actions witnessed and noted
Contractor's checks watched and recorded, any unit pulled for recharge or hydrostatic work logged with where it went and what replaced it.
Internal exam and hydrostatic test due dates read
Each unit's next internal examination and hydrostatic test dates read from its record and the cylinder or label, units due sent for that work, none left past due.
Hazard changes since last year reviewed with the company
Beyond the quarterly label check, areas that changed use, such as new cooking, electrical rooms or flammable storage, reviewed with the company for unit type and placement.
No photoCabinet glass, latch and break tool checked
Where units sit in cabinets, door opening and latching, glass or panel intact, break tool attached where the cabinet uses one, and the cabinet sign readable.
No photo
Record updated
New service tag reads current with old tag removed
Fresh dated tag on each unit, superseded tag taken off, dates photographed so the site file matches what's on the wall.
Any deficiencies from the visit written down
Units the contractor flagged (low charge, damage, wrong type for the hazard) captured with the location and the promised fix.
Service company's written report on file
Company's report for the visit filed with the site records, its unit count matching the site list, and deficiencies and replacements itemized.
No photoExtinguisher list and floor plan updated
Site list and floor plan updated for units added, moved, retired or swapped during the visit, so the next quarterly round walks the right locations.
No photo
Back in service
Serviced units rehung with a new tamper seal
Each unit back on its own bracket or in its cabinet, pin in, new tamper seal on, gauge where fitted in the operable range, instructions facing out.
Empty locations covered until each unit returns
Empty locations covered by the owner's impairment procedure until each unit returns.
No photo
What usually sends this back
The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work
- Service company hits the accessible units and quietly skips the ones behind stored material, leaving gaps the site never notices.
- New tags applied but the old ones left hanging too, so the actual service date gets confused on the next round.
Verified against
Common questions
6 answers
- What does this portable fire extinguisher annual checklist cover?
- 13 items across 4 sections, covering before the visit, service observed, record updated, back in service. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
- Who should run this inspection?
- The licensed extinguisher service company performs the annual maintenance; the site person walks with them, observes and records what was done.
- When in the schedule should this walk happen?
- Once a year on the contractor's visit, the deeper pass the quarterly round can't reach, and where the site captures the updated tags for the record.
- Why do these items ask for a photo?
- 6 of the 13 items call for photo evidence, 8 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
- What most often fails a portable fire extinguisher annual inspection?
- Service company hits the accessible units and quietly skips the ones behind stored material, leaving gaps the site never notices. New tags applied but the old ones left hanging too, so the actual service date gets confused on the next round.
- Can I use this checklist in RTI?
- Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.
Run it with the Photo Gate
A checklist nobody can submit half-finished
Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 8 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.
See all 508 checklists · 6741 items and 5984 photo requirements in total.