Survey first. On a new site we count and record every unit: type, size, location, manufacture date and condition, and note where the risks have changed since the extinguishers were first sited.
Fire Extinguisher Servicing
Advanced Overwatch services, sites and replaces fire extinguishers for premises across Northern Ireland.
Extinguishers need commissioning when installed and servicing every year to stay reliable and compliant. We service, replace and site extinguishers across Northern Ireland, with the service labels and records your inspections expect.
Security for businesses and homes across N.I.
Who needs planned extinguisher servicing
Portable extinguishers are usually the first thing a fire risk assessment recommends and the easiest thing to forget about afterwards. They sit on a bracket for years, and the only way to know one will work is to have it inspected on a schedule by somebody competent.
The premises that need a planned visit are the ones where extinguishers form part of the fire precautions written into the risk assessment: offices, shops, workshops, warehouses, kitchens and food premises, schools, halls, surgeries, farms with fuel or machinery stores, and buildings in multiple occupation where the landlord covers the common areas.
Vehicles, plant and mobile catering units are often missed, because nobody owns them in the way a building is owned. So are extinguishers bought online and hung on a wall without being commissioned. If an extinguisher on your site carries no service label, treat it as unproven rather than as cover.
How an extinguisher service visit works
Basic service. Each unit is inspected against BS 5306-3, which sets an annual basic service by a competent person as the routine, with extended service and overhaul at longer intervals by type.
Commissioning. New units are commissioned on site before they count as cover, the step most often skipped when extinguishers are bought loose.
Siting and signage. Units are matched to the risks actually present, mounted at the right height on the escape route and signed so they can be found by somebody who has never looked before.
Replacement and disposal. Life expired or damaged units are replaced and the old ones disposed of responsibly.
Records. You get a service certificate and a schedule listing every unit on site, which is what an inspector will ask to see.
What this service covers
Everything your extinguisher estate needs to pass inspection and work when it matters.
Annual servicing
Every extinguisher inspected, weighed, checked and labelled to current standards on a planned annual visit.
Replacement & disposal
Life-expired or damaged units replaced and disposed of responsibly, with honest advice on what actually needs changing.
Siting & type advice
The right extinguisher types in the right places for the risks in your premises, mounted and signed correctly.
Standards, duties, questions to ask and what happens next
The duty comes from Articles 25 and 26 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. Regulation 12 requires premises to be equipped, where necessary, with appropriate means for fighting fire, kept easily accessible, simple to use and indicated by signs, and Regulation 16 requires that equipment to be maintained in efficient working order. How many extinguishers, of what type and where, is answered by your fire risk assessment rather than by a rule of thumb. The technical standards are BS 5306-3 for commissioning and maintenance and BS 5306-8 for selection and positioning.
Worth asking any supplier: does the price include the labels and the certificate; will they tell you when a unit does not need replacing; are extended services and refills quoted separately; is there a schedule listing every unit; and will they check siting against the risk assessment rather than servicing whatever is on the wall.
Common questions
How often must fire extinguishers be serviced?
A basic service every 12 months by a competent person, with extended services at longer intervals depending on type.
Do new extinguishers need anything before use?
Yes, commissioning on site by a competent person, which we carry out as part of supply and installation.
How many extinguishers does my premises need?
It depends on floor area, layout and risks. We assess your premises and recommend types and positions rather than guessing.
What types of extinguisher do I need?
Different risks need different media: water, foam, CO2, powder or wet chemical. We match types to the risks actually present in your premises.
Can you service extinguishers you did not supply?
Yes. We service existing estates regardless of supplier and tell you plainly which units are worth keeping.
How long do fire extinguishers last?
There is no single expiry date. A unit stays in service while it passes its annual basic service and its extended service or overhaul at the longer interval set for its type. Age, corrosion, a damaged hose, a failed pressure check or a discharge take it out of service. We tell you which category each unit falls into rather than replacing an estate at once.
Do I need a fire extinguisher on a vehicle or on plant?
It depends on the risk assessment for the activity rather than on the vehicle itself. Where extinguishers are provided on vans, plant, mobile catering units or farm machinery they need the same annual service as the ones on a wall, and they are the units most often missed. We include them in the site schedule.
Which type of extinguisher goes where?
Water and foam for ordinary combustibles, carbon dioxide for live electrical equipment, wet chemical for cooking oils and fats, and dry powder where it is genuinely the right answer despite the mess it makes. Siting follows the escape route so a unit is reached on the way out. We match types to the risks recorded in your assessment.
Ready to get started?
Book a servicing visit or an extinguisher survey and we will make sure your cover is right, ready and compliant.
What happens next: book a servicing visit or an extinguisher survey. We will record what you have, say what needs changing and give you a fixed quote after a free survey.
Related pages
Why choose Advanced Overwatch
Established in 2017 and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and ISO 45001, we work from our own base at Beresford House in Coleraine. Extinguisher commissioning and servicing is carried out by qualified engineers to BS 5306-3, with a service label on every unit and a schedule for the site.