A court case relating to the damage caused by an extinguisher which was discharged maliciously, has prompted changes to be made to the BS 5306 Part 8 (the Code of Practice for the selection and positioning of portable fire extinguishers).
British Fire Consortium President Graham Newman commented, “Interestingly the manufacturer of the fire extinguisher has been charged with negligence, rather than the installing company (a division of the manufacturer). The extinguisher was sited correctly and was correct for the type of risk, however the judge ruled that there was a duty of care to advise customers that if an extinguisher is used maliciously for a reason it was not intended, then it may make a mess! Because of this ruling I am concerned that appropriate and explicit advice is given in the Code of Practice telling installers how to deliver this advice to their customers and I am working on behalf of the BFC to ensure this happens.
Article courtesy of The British Fire Consortium who endorse Fire and Safety Solutions Ltd. FASS supply a full range of Fire Extinguishers types including relevent fire action signs and are fully qualified to advise and install extinguishers plus carry out fire extinguisher servicing. Please contact us for further information.
