Is your business OSHA compliant?
Monday, January 23, 2017
Did you know that your business could be fined if you do not have your fire extinguishers maintained annually by a licensed company? This article from Brooks Equipment describes how OSHA fined a USPS facility for not keeping their fire extinguishers up to date.
Extinguisher Technicians Conduct OSHA Compliant Extinguisher Inspections
by Mark Conroy
On July 3, 2016, a fire occurred at the US Postal Service (USPS) vehicle maintenance facility in St Louis, MO. A portable fire extinguisher was used to extinguish the small fire in a vehicle wheel hub. In the subsequent investigation (following the fire), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found two extinguishers that were not charged. OSHA is fining the facility $87,000 because they failed to maintain working fire extinguishers along with other violations. OSHA stated that USPS failed to maintain charged and operable fire extinguishers, and they failed to conduct monthly inspections of fire extinguishers. The other violations were related to the fire alarm system and not training workers on fire extinguisher use or the hazards associated with incipient stage fire fighting.
In addition to conducting fire investigations, OSHA routinely inspects facilities for compliance, and if they find serious violations, like not maintaining charged and operable fire extinguishers, a severe fine can be imposed.
To avoid expensive fines, property owners need to make sure that monthly inspections and annual maintenance are performed on all fire extinguishers. Although extinguisher technicians perform the required annual maintenance, NFPA 10, section A.7.1.2.3 also identifies extinguisher technicians for monthly inspections.
For more information click the link below to see the citations from OSHA.
https://www.osha.gov/ Article
In addition to OSHA, your fire equipment may also be under the jurisdiction of the Fire Marshal, DOT, Health Department, and your insurance company.
At Price Fire Protection, we pride ourselves on keeping our customers in compliance. If you would like a free quote or need service call us today at 772-801-FIRE (3473)
