Buying Fire Extinguishers for Offices

Looking to purchase fire extinguishers for your office building? Fire extinguishers are an absolute must for any building and are an important part of keeping both commercial and residential buildings safe. Both the type of fire extinguisher and the number of fire extinguishers you need for your office will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of materials stored in your office, as well as the size of the space. In this article, we take a look at how to buy fire extinguishers for offices, so you can get some clarification when making this important purchase.

Which Type is Best Suited For Office Use?

As you may know, there are five different fire extinguisher ratings – A, B, C, D, and K – and each class has been created in order to put out a specific type of fire. The average office building will usually require the same class fire extinguishers as you would place in your home.

Guardian Fire Protection Services breaks down what each of these five fire extinguisher ratings means and what type is best suited for an office setting:

“Since you probably won’t be dealing with too many hazardous metals (Class D) or flaming cooking fats (Class K) on an average work day, it’s safe to say that most typical office buildings should have ABC fire extinguishers installed throughout the hallways. Class ABC fire extinguishers will put out fires caused by “ordinary combustibles,” including wood, paper, and cloth (Class A), as well as burning liquids like gasoline (Class B) and electrical fires (Class C).”

What is the Right Number of Fire Extinguishers For an Office Building?

The rule is that you should have one fire extinguisher for every floor of your office building. However, it is ideal to increase this number in the event that multiple people are able to help douse a potential office fire.

Collins Fire & Safety tells us more on where to install multiple fire extinguishers in an office building:

“If you are increasing the number of fire extinguishers, you can think of installing fire extinguishers at a distance of 75ft from any point of the building. The standard fire extinguisher used in offices is of the 2A10BC rating. This extinguisher is capable of extinguishing fire for an area as large as 3000sq ft. Keeping this figure, you can calculate your building area and the number of fire extinguishers you should install.”

How Should I Store Fire Extinguishers in an Office?

Now that you know the types of fire extinguishers and how many you wish to purchase, where are you supposed to store fire extinguishers in an office setting? Fire extinguishers should always be stored closed to the greatest fire risk in your building, while still being able to access them in the case of a fire. You must also take into consideration your employee’s ability to reach one in the event of an emergency. Ideally, an employee should be no less than 75 feet apart from where a fire extinguisher is stored.

StrikeFirstUSA.com further explores where fire extinguishers should be stored in an office building:

“Fire extinguishers should be stored in wall cabinets or mounted on the appropriate brackets. The handle should be placed about 3.5 to 5 feet from the floor. Larger extinguishers may be placed with their handles about 3 feet from the floor. All portable fire extinguishers should be labeled as approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.”

Fire-Alert takes pride in equipping homeowners, commercial businesses, and government buildings with all necessary fire safety devices to ensure the well-being of families and employees across the nation. Reach out to us using our contact form to find out more.