Fire extinguisher inspection, answered plainly.

NFPA 10 §7.2 requires a visual inspection at intervals not exceeding 31 days, and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157(e)(2) requires the same monthly check. Annual maintenance must be performed by a person certified under NFPA 10 §7.3, in practice your fire protection contractor. FireGuard schedules the monthly check, records the annual service date, and reminds you before either is due.

Any trained employee can perform the monthly visual inspection. It is a quick check of location, access, pressure indicator, pin and seal, and physical condition. Annual maintenance, the six-year internal exam, and hydrostatic testing must be done by a person certified for that work under NFPA 10 §7.3, which in practice means your fire protection contractor.

OSHA 1910.157(e)(2) requires the monthly visual inspection itself; the record-keeping duty for monthly checks comes from NFPA 10 §7.2.4 (month, year, and inspector initials, kept 12 months), which most fire codes adopt. OSHA 1910.157(e)(3) requires the annual maintenance record to be kept for one year. FireGuard time-stamps every inspection with the inspector, findings, and optional photo, and keeps them for at least three years.

Per NFPA 10 §7.2.2, the monthly visual inspection confirms the extinguisher is in its designated place, is visible and unobstructed, has operating instructions facing outward, has a full pressure gauge reading in the operable range, has an intact pin and tamper seal, shows no physical damage, corrosion, leakage, or clogged nozzle, and has a current inspection tag. Wheeled units also get tire and hose checks.

Inspection is the quick monthly visual check any trained employee can do. Maintenance is the thorough annual examination by a person certified under NFPA 10 §7.3 (in practice, your fire protection contractor), plus the six-year internal examination and the hydrostatic test every 5 or 12 years depending on extinguisher type. Federal OSHA does not itself require a third-party contractor; NFPA 10 and most state licensing rules do require certification for maintenance.

NFPA 10 §7.2.4 requires each monthly inspection to be recorded (month, year, inspector initials) and kept for 12 months. OSHA 1910.157(e)(3) requires the annual maintenance record to be kept for one year after the last entry or the life of the shell. Hydrostatic test records are kept until the next test. FireGuard keeps everything for at least three years while your account is active.

NFPA 10 says at intervals not exceeding 31 days, and OSHA says monthly. In practice, pick a consistent day each month and never let a unit go more than 31 days. FireGuard flags a unit as due soon at 23 days and overdue after 30, a deliberately conservative default.

Remove it from service, replace it with a unit of equal or greater rating (OSHA 1910.157(e)(4) requires equivalent protection), and tag it for maintenance or recharge by your fire protection contractor. Record the failure and the corrective action. FireGuard marks failed units, alerts your admin, and keeps the follow-up visible until someone closes it with a note.

It depends on hazard class and travel distance: for ordinary (Class A) hazards, extinguishers must be within 75 feet of travel; for Class B hazards, within 30 or 50 feet depending on rating; for Class K in commercial kitchens, within 30 feet of the cooking appliance. Your fire marshal or a licensed fire protection company determines placement. FireGuard tracks the units once they are installed.

Yes. Each unit records its type and size, and the annual, six-year, and hydrostatic intervals are set per type: 5 years for CO2, water, and wet chemical; 12 years for dry chemical stored-pressure units.

FireGuard is your permanent, searchable record and reminder system. Many jurisdictions still expect a physical tag on the unit, so most customers keep the tag and use FireGuard to make sure it never goes unmarked. Check with your local fire marshal; FireGuard prints the QR label that lives beside the tag.

No. FireGuard records inspections, shows which extinguishers are due, overdue, or were never inspected, and tracks failed checks until someone resolves them. It does not certify equipment, perform maintenance, or replace the judgment of your fire marshal (the Authority Having Jurisdiction). Status labels reflect the records your team entered and the schedule you configured.

No. A scan identifies the unit and opens its record; the inspector still has to look at the extinguisher and answer the checklist. The record shows who answered, when, and optionally a photo, which is far better evidence than initials on a tag, but it is not proof of presence.

FireGuard is built for the facility side: the building owner, property manager, safety coordinator, or maintenance lead who is responsible for monthly checks. Contractors are welcome to use it with clients, but it is not a service-company dispatch and invoicing system.

Active extinguishers: units currently installed and expected to be inspected. Retired or replaced units stay in your history and do not count. Locations and users never count.

Because the person who should do the monthly walk changes: a maintenance tech this month, the night supervisor next month. Per-seat pricing punishes you for letting more people inspect. Extinguisher count is stable and matches the work.

No permanent free plan. Every account starts with a 45-day free trial with no card, long enough to complete two monthly inspection rounds with your real inventory. Our free checklist and inspection log templates are yours regardless.

Nothing breaks. You can keep inspecting everything you already have. We notify your administrator and give you 30 days over the limit before new units require an upgrade, which is prorated to the day. No surprise charges, no deleted records.

Your account becomes read-only with full CSV and PDF export for 90 days. Records are then deleted from primary storage and age out of backups. Cancellation is one click on the billing page; no retention call.

Annual billing gives you two months free on every plan. Portfolio and Enterprise accounts can be invoiced and paid by ACH or purchase order.

FireGuard generates a print-ready PDF of labels for any label printer or sheet. Pre-printed weatherproof labels can be quoted separately through the contact page.