[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1910.157]
[Page 498-501]
TITLE 29--LABOR
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR
PART 1910_OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS--Table of Contents
Subpart L_Fire Protection
Sec. 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers.
(a) Scope and application. The requirements of this section apply to
the placement, use, maintenance, and testing of portable fire
extinguishers provided for the use of employees. Paragraph (d) of this
section does not apply to extinguishers provided for employee use on the
outside of workplace buildings or structures. Where extinguishers are
provided but are not intended for employee use and the employer has an
emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan that meet the
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.38 and 29 CFR 1910.39 respectively, then
only the requirements of paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section apply.
(b) Exemptions. (1) Where the employer has established and
implemented a written fire safety policy which requires the immediate
and total evacuation of employees from the workplace upon the sounding
of a fire alarm signal and which includes an emergency action plan and a
fire prevention plan which meet the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.38 and
29 CFR 1910.39 respectively, and when extinguishers are not available in
the workplace, the employer is exempt from all requirements of this
section unless a specific standard in part 1910 requires that a portable
fire extinguisher be provided.
(2) Where the employer has an emergency action plan meeting the
requirements of Sec. 1910.38 which designates certain employees to be
the only employees authorized to use the available
[[Page 499]]
portable fire extinguishers, and which requires all other employees in
the fire area to immediately evacuate the affected work area upon the
sounding of the fire alarm, the employer is exempt from the distribution
requirements in paragraph (d) of this section.
(c) General requirements. (1) The employer shall provide portable
fire extinguishers and shall mount, locate and identify them so that
they are readily accessible to employees without subjecting the
employees to possible injury.
(2) Only approved portable fire extinguishers shall be used to meet
the requirements of this section.
(3) The employer shall not provide or make available in the
workplace portable fire extinguishers using carbon tetrachloride or
chlorobromomethane extinguishing agents.
(4) The employer shall assure that portable fire extinguishers are
maintained in a fully charged and operable condition and kept in their
designated places at all times except during use.
(5) The employer shall remove from service all soldered or riveted
shell self-generating soda acid or self-generating foam or gas cartridge
water type portable fire extinguishers which are operated by inverting
the extinguisher to rupture the cartridge or to initiate an
uncontrollable pressure generating chemical reaction to expel the agent.
(d) Selection and distribution. (1) Portable fire extinguishers
shall be provided for employee use and selected and distributed based on
the classes of anticipated workplace fires and on the size and degree of
hazard which would affect their use.
(2) The employer shall distribute portable fire extinguishers for
use by employees on Class A fires so that the travel distance for
employees to any extinguisher is 75 feet (22.9 m) or less.
(3) The employer may use uniformly spaced standpipe systems or hose
stations connected to a sprinkler system installed for emergency use by
employees instead of Class A portable fire extinguishers, provided that
such systems meet the respective requirements of Sec. 1910.158 or Sec.
1910.159, that they provide total coverage of the area to be protected,
and that employees are trained at least annually in their use.
(4) The employer shall distribute portable fire extinguishers for
use by employees on Class B fires so that the travel distance from the
Class B hazard area to any extinguisher is 50 feet (15.2 m) or less.
(5) The employer shall distribute portable fire extinguishers used
for Class C hazards on the basis of the appropriate pattern for the
existing Class A or Class B hazards.
(6) The employer shall distribute portable fire extinguishers or
other containers of Class D extinguishing agent for use by employees so
that the travel distance from the combustible metal working area to any
extinguishing agent is 75 feet (22.9 m) or less. Portable fire
extinguishers for Class D hazards are required in those combustible
metal working areas where combustible metal powders, flakes, shavings,
or similarly sized products are generated at least once every two weeks.
(e) Inspection, maintenance and testing. (1) The employer shall be
responsible for the inspection, maintenance and testing of all portable
fire extinguishers in the workplace.
(2) Portable extinguishers or hose used in lieu thereof under
paragraph (d)(3) of this section shall be visually inspected monthly.
(3) The employer shall assure that portable fire extinguishers are
subjected to an annual maintenance check. Stored pressure extinguishers
do not require an internal examination. The employer shall record the
annual maintenance date and retain this record for one year after the
last entry or the life of the shell, whichever is less. The record shall
be available to the Assistant Secretary upon request.
(4) The employer shall assure that stored pressure dry chemical
extinguishers that require a 12-year hydrostatic test are emptied and
subjected to applicable maintenance procedures every 6 years. Dry
chemical extinguishers having non-refillable disposable containers are
exempt from this requirement. When recharging or hydrostatic testing is
performed, the 6-year requirement begins from that date.
[[Page 500]]
(5) The employer shall assure that alternate equivalent protection
is provided when portable fire extinguishers are removed from service
for maintenance and recharging.
(f) Hydrostatic testing. (1) The employer shall assure that
hydrostatic testing is performed by trained persons with suitable
testing equipment and facilities.
(2) The employer shall assure that portable extinguishers are
hydrostatically tested at the intervals listed in Table L-1 of this
section, except under any of the following conditions:
(i) When the unit has been repaired by soldering, welding, brazing,
or use of patching compounds;
(ii) When the cylinder or shell threads are damaged;
(iii) When there is corrosion that has caused pitting, including
corrosion under removable name plate assemblies;
(iv) When the extinguisher has been burned in a fire; or
(v) When a calcium chloride extinguishing agent has been used in a
stainless steel shell.
(3) In addition to an external visual examination, the employer
shall assure that an internal examination of cylinders and shells to be
tested is made prior to the hydrostatic tests.
Table L-1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test
Type of extinguishers interval
(years)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soda acid (soldered brass shells) (until 1/1/82).............. (\1\)
Soda acid (stainless steel shell)............................. 5
Cartridge operated water and/or antifreeze.................... 5
Stored pressure water and/or antifreeze....................... 5
Wetting agent................................................. 5
Foam (soldered brass shells) (until 1/1/82)................... (\1\)
Foam (stainless steel shell).................................. 5
Aqueous Film Forming foam (AFFF).............................. 5
Loaded stream................................................. 5
Dry chemical with stainless steel............................. 5
Carbon dioxide................................................ 5
Dry chemical, stored pressure, with mild steel, brazed brass 12
or aluminum shells...........................................
Dry chemical, cartridge or cylinder operated, with mild steel 12
shells.......................................................
Halon 1211.................................................... 12
Halon 1301.................................................... 12
Dry powder, cartridge or cylinder operated with mild steel 12
shells.......................................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Extinguishers having shells constructed of copper or brass joined by
soft solder or rivets shall not be hydrostatically tested and shall be
removed from service by January 1, 1982. (Not permitted)
(4) The employer shall assure that portable fire extinguishers are
hydrostatically tested whenever they show new evidence of corrosion or
mechanical injury, except under the conditions listed in paragraphs
(f)(2)(i)-(v) of this section.
(5) The employer shall assure that hydrostatic tests are performed
on extinguisher hose assemblies which are equipped with a shut-off
nozzle at the discharge end of the hose. The test interval shall be the
same as specified for the extinguisher on which the hose is installed.
(6) The employer shall assure that carbon dioxide hose assemblies
with a shut-off nozzle are hydrostatically tested at 1,250 psi (8,620
kPa).
(7) The employer shall assure that dry chemical and dry powder hose
assemblies with a shut-off nozzle are hydrostatically tested at 300 psi
(2,070 kPa).
(8) Hose assemblies passing a hydrostatic test do not require any
type of recording or stamping.
(9) The employer shall assure that hose assemblies for carbon
dioxide extinguishers that require a hydrostatic test are tested within
a protective cage device.
(10) The employer shall assure that carbon dioxide extinguishers and
nitrogen or carbon dioxide cylinders used with wheeled extinguishers are
tested every 5 years at 5/3 of the service pressure as stamped into the
cylinder. Nitrogen cylinders which comply with 49 CFR 173.34(e)(15) may
be hydrostatically tested every 10 years.
(11) The employer shall assure that all stored pressure and Halon
1211 types of extinguishers are hydrostatically tested at the factory
test pressure not to exceed two times the service pressure.
(12) The employer shall assure that acceptable self-generating type
soda acid and foam extinguishers are tested at 350 psi (2,410 kPa).
(13) Air or gas pressure may not be used for hydrostatic testing.
(14) Extinguisher shells, cylinders, or cartridges which fail a
hydrostatic pressure test, or which are not fit for testing shall be
removed from service and from the workplace.
[[Page 501]]
(15)(i) The equipment for testing compressed gas type cylinders
shall be of the water jacket type. The equipment shall be provided with
an expansion indicator which operates with an accuracy within one
percent of the total expansion or .1cc (.1mL) of liquid.
(ii) The equipment for testing non-compressed gas type cylinders
shall consist of the following:
(A) A hydrostatic test pump, hand or power operated, capable of
producing not less than 150 percent of the test pressure, which shall
include appropriate check valves and fittings;
(B) A flexible connection for attachment to fittings to test through
the extinguisher nozzle, test bonnet, or hose outlet, as is applicable;
and
(C) A protective cage or barrier for personal protection of the
tester, designed to provide visual observation of the extinguisher under
test.
(16) The employer shall maintain and provide upon request to the
Assistant Secretary evidence that the required hydrostatic testing of
fire extinguishers has been performed at the time intervals shown in
Table L-1. Such evidence shall be in the form of a certification record
which includes the date of the test, the signature of the person who
performed the test and the serial number, or other identifier, of the
fire extinguisher that was tested. Such records shall be kept until the
extinguisher is hydrostatically retested at the time interval specified
in Table L-1 or until the extinguisher is taken out of service,
whichever comes first.
(g) Training and education. (1) Where the employer has provided
portable fire extinguishers for employee use in the workplace, the
employer shall also provide an educational program to familiarize
employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the
hazards involved with incipient stage fire fighting.
(2) The employer shall provide the education required in paragraph
(g)(1) of this section upon initial employment and at least annually
thereafter.
(3) The employer shall provide employees who have been designated to
use fire fighting equipment as part of an emergency action plan with
training in the use of the appropriate equipment.
(4) The employer shall provide the training required in paragraph
(g)(3) of this section upon initial assignment to the designated group
of employees and at least annually thereafter.
[45 FR 60708, Sept. 12, 1980; 46 FR 24557, May 1, 1981, as amended at 51
FR 34560, Sept. 29, 1986; 61 FR 9239, Mar. 7, 1996; 67 FR 67964, Nov. 7,
2002]
