Fire Extinguishers Stats and Facts

FACTS

  1. Proper inspection, maintenance, and disposal of fire extinguishers can prevent potentially dangerous malfunctions.
  2. All rechargeable-type fire extinguishers shall be recharged after any use or when the need is indicated by an inspection or servicing.
  3. Environmental forces and intentional acts may cause problems with extinguishers.
  4. A tamper-evident fire extinguisher cabinet can protect against the impacts of moisture and sunlight.
  5. Responsible parties must ensure that extinguishers are protected in a way that doesn’t limit access in an emergency
  6. Cabinets housing fire extinguishers shall not be locked, except where fire extinguishers are subject to malicious use and cabinets include a means of emergency access.
  7. Old or unserviceable extinguishers must be removed and safely disposed of.
  8. Monthly inspections focus largely on basic issues like unexpected pressure loss.
  9. Risks to extinguishers may prompt more rigorous weekly or daily inspections focused on damage.
  10. Annual inspections include a look at long-term contributors to extinguisher failure, and may include professional testing.

STATS

  • Fire extinguishers can effectively put out 80% of all fires, even if the extinguisher is classified as a portable unit. When a fire extinguisher is used on a fire in the United States, 75% of the time, the fire department is not required to attend the incident. 
  • In 60% of all fire incidents which occur, the fire department is never notified if a fire extinguisher is present and accessible. Almost 2 million fires are handled entirely by a fire extinguisher in the U.S. every year. 
  • Structure fires account for 20% of municipal fire department calls and are responsible for 49% of deaths that are associated with fires. 
  • The most popular type of fire extinguisher sold by the industry today is the Class A extinguisher, which accounts for 41.8% of total sales. 
  • Cooking is also the primary cause of non-residential building fires, accounting for 29.5% of tracked incidents. 
  • About 40% of people in the 85+ age demographic are killed when caught in a fire, which is 4x higher than the national fire death rate in the United States.
  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fires and explosion accounted for 148 workplace deaths in 2013—or 3.4% of all fatal occupational injuries for the year.