INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
Inspection and maintenance are very essential in the effective maintenance of fire extinguishers for two important reasons
- Fire extinguishers should always be readily available in full operating condition without any issues surfacing during fire emergency operation related to physical and chemical components of the fire extinguishers and they should operate properly if a need arises during a fire emergency between the stipulated inspection or maintenance schedules
- Fire extinguishers should not pose any hazard during operation and during recharging either to the person operating or to persons near the vicinity.
PERIODIC INSPECTION
Periodic inspection should be done frequently (mostly monthly) based on checklists and manual checks that help to determine the physical condition of the fire extinguisher and its components. The periodic inspection is carried out on both RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER and NON-RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXINTINGUIHSER and it should be done by a designated person/trained person from that ORGANIZATION
- RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXINTINGUIHSER: These are CARTRIDGE TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, these are meant for multiple time use, where the FIRE EXTINGUISHING AGENT is recharged and GAS CARTRIDGE is changed. These fire extinguishers recharging is done at the site by the authorized service personnel who have got the appropriate training.
- NON-RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXINTINGUIHSER: These are STORED TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, these are meant for one-time use only, these fire extinguishers are meant to sent back to the manufacturer if any deficiency is observed during Inspection or after kept into usage.
PERIODIC INSPECTION CHECKLIST
The following are the checks done during PERIODIC INSPECTION
- Location of the fire extinguisher
- Accessibility of fire extinguisher
- Operating instructions nameplate legibility
- Tamper indicators and safety seals are intact
- The weight checked is as matching with the requirement
- Physical examination of the body for corrosion, leakages, bulging or clogged nozzles
- Pressure gauge reading indicator in the correct position
- Condition of hose, tyres (if trolley mounted)
NOTE: When handing NON-RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS back to manufactures, it has to be ensured that for DCP based extinguishers the gas to be depressurized and then sent to the manufacturer, in case of a halon/clean agent the gas is not be depressurized.
QUARTERLY MAINTENANCE
QUARTERLY MAINTENANCE is done for a 3-month period the quarterly inspection is carried out on both RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER and NON-RECHARGEABLE FIRE EXINTINGUIHSER and it normally done by a professional as a part of AMC/ or a certified expert hired by the organization. The quarterly maintenance is done to check every component/part for its integrity and cleanliness and accordingly, the component/parts are changed. The maintenance procedure is different for both RECHARGEABLE AND NON-RECHARGEABLE TYPE
RECHARGEABLE TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
- Water-based (Gas cartridge type)
- Mechanical foam type (Gas cartridge type)
- Dry powder type (Gas cartridge type)
NON- RECHARGEABLE TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
- Water-based (Stored pressure type)
- Mechanical foam type (Stored pressure type)
- Dry powder type (Stored pressure type)
- Clean agent gas type
- Carbon dioxide (CO2 gas type)
GENERAL SAFETY GUIDELINES DURING MAINTENANCE FOR ALL FIRE EXTINGUISHERS DURING OPENING
- Use of appropriate clamping arrangements and PPE’s is required before taking up maintenance work
- While unscrewing Cap or valve assembly for Gas cartridge type fire extinguisher, it has to be ensured that residual pressure if any in the hose and nozzle assembly is completely discharged (the residual pressure is due to the build-up of pressure from the internal contents of the fire extinguisher)
- The pressure indicating device can also malfunction, so only depending on pressure indicating devices to verify the pressure alone is not sufficient, so care should be taken while determining the true pressure.
- While unscrewing the cap or valve assembly slowly do it by rotating two or three turns, or else sudden opening of cap/valve assembly may release pressure and can eject parts of the cap assembly which can act as projectiles causing injuries and can also be fatal.
- Under no circumstances valve assembly to be attempted for removal for STORED TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS or CARBON DIOXIDE/HALON FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
- The working posture while doing maintenance work the personnel should ensure that the positioning of fire extinguisher should be that the cap/valve assembly parts do not hit the personnel during any accidental ejection ( i.e the personnel working should ensure that they are clear of any parts that may get ejected)
- While Opening the DRY CHEMICAL POWDER extinguisher, necessary precautions to be taken to minimize the exposure of CHEMICAL POWDER to atmospheric moisture else the moisture will cause the caking of the powder
- While changing DRY CHEMICAL POWDER, the same chemical constituents used previously should be replaced else use of different DRY CHEMICAL POWDER else chemical reaction can happen and pressure build-up will happen in the fire extinguisher.
- While changing GAS CARTRIDGES the recommended particular type and capacity as per the fire extinguisher capacity only to be used. The use of higher capacity can result in excess pressure
- Care should be taken during storing DRY CHEMICAL POWDER, FOAM CONCENTRATES, GAS CARTRIDGES as these can also deteriorate with long storage and exposure to moisture and high temperature.
- Use of appropriate blowers and dryers to clean the fittings will help in preventing CORROSION, prevention of clogging of nozzles
IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE CHECKED WHILE EVALUATING FIRE EXTINGUISHER WHETHER IT IS FIT TO USE OR UNFIT TO USE DURING PERIODIC INSPECTION OR MAINTENANCE
- Checking for corrosion at welded areas
- Checking for damage of threads (Example like Improper screwing and unscrewing)
- Checking for excessive wear and tear
- Checking for damages to any part of the operating/controlling mechanism (For example A broken handle)
- Corrosion, wear or damage to any part of the operating or control mechanism.
- Checking for extensive general corrosion
- Checking for corrosion under the zinc or lead lining
CONCLUSION:
The Inspection, maintenance at required intervals of the fire extinguishers by properly trained and competent personnel will ensure that the process of inspection and maintenance is done systematically and safely following the standard guidelines. The outcome of inspection and maintenance will ensure that all mechanical parts, extinguishing media and operating mechanism (expelling means) are in proper working condition, else immediate corrective action is taken and rectified
Article by PJ Mohan
Sr.Faculty, NIFS
No comments:
Post a Comment