Guide
Fire extinguisher servicing cost: units, visits and refills
Updated
Extinguisher servicing is the most commoditised line in a fire compliance budget, which makes the per unit price easy to compare and the extras easy to miss.
How the price is built
- Number of units. The base of every quote, usually expressed as a price per extinguisher.
- Visit charge. Getting an engineer to site is a fixed cost, which is why a handful of units on a remote site costs far more per unit than a full building.
- Extinguisher types. Water, foam, CO2, powder and wet chemical are not equivalent to service or to replace, and CO2 units in particular have their own handling requirements.
- Number of sites. Multi-site estates get a better rate per site; single sites do not.
- Extended service and replacement. Beyond the routine annual check, units periodically need a deeper service or replacement, and that is where a cheap annual price stops being cheap.
- Access and out of hours. Schools, restaurants and residential blocks often need visits outside occupied hours.
Where the standard sits
Article 13 of the Fire Safety Order requires premises to be equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment where necessary, easily accessible, simple to use and indicated by signs, and article 17 requires it to be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair (legislation.gov.uk). The servicing regime the UK market follows for portable extinguishers is set out in BS 5306-3, a paywalled British Standard, together with what your fire risk assessment concludes. Ask any prospective supplier which clause of that standard their visit follows and what the labels they leave behind actually certify.
The upsell to watch
- Get the per unit price and the visit charge shown separately, so a small site can be judged honestly.
- Ask what triggers an extended service or replacement, and what those cost, before the engineer is standing in your reception.
- Ask whether refills after discharge are covered, including after a training exercise or a malicious discharge.
- Ask whether new units recommended on the visit are quoted at list price or a contract rate.
An extinguisher survey that recommends replacing most of your estate on a first visit is worth a second opinion. Ask which standard the recommendation follows and what specifically is wrong with each unit.
What to keep
The service report, the labels on the units and the fire logbook entry are the evidence that article 17 is being met for this equipment. Keep them with the alarm and emergency lighting records rather than in a separate folder: an inspector reads the building's file, not one discipline's.