Fire extinguishers are used in the workplace to control small fires or to facilitate escape when a fire is blocking an escape route. Unless the employer has established and implemented a written fire safety policy which requires the immediate and total evacuation of employees from the workplace in the event of a fire and includes an emergency action plan which meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.38 and a fire prevention plan which meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.39, extinguishers must be provided in the workplace. Also, regardless of whether an employer has the required emergency action and fire prevention plans, fire extinguishers must be provided if a specific OSHA regulation requires they be provided (as is the case in certain circumstances when welding is being performed).
Where
When determining where to place fire extinguishers, you need to determine what type of fire might occur in a specific area and the degree of hazard. The OSHA requirements for fire extinguisher distribution are as follow:
·   Extinguishers for Class A fires should be placed such that employees need to travel no more than 75 feet to reach the fire extinguisher.
·   Extinguishers for Class B fires should be placed such that employees need to travel no more than 50 feet to reach the fire extinguisher.
·   Class C fire extinguishers should be distributed based on the appropriate Class A or Class B hazards. Class C fires are actually a Class A or Class B fire involving energized electrical equipment where the fire extinguishing media needs to be nonconductive. Therefore, if the fire hazard is more closely associated with a Class A type of fire, the distribution pattern for Class A extinguishers should be used, and if the fire hazard is more closely associated with a Class B type of fire, the distribution pattern for B extinguishers should be used.
·   Class D fire extinguishers should be distributed such that the employee travel distance from the combustible metal working area to any extinguisher is 75 feet or less. (Per OSHA regulation, Class D fire extinguishers are required in areas where combustible metal powders, flakes, shavings, or similarly sized materials are generated at least once every two weeks.)
When determining the spacing of fire extinguisher service nyc in your workplace, remember that these are guidelines only. After reviewing the hazards in your workplace, you may decide that spacing the extinguishers more closely than the OSHA requirements is warranted. Also, when using multiple-class extinguishers (ABC extinguishers, for example), you will distribute extinguishers based on the hazard type-so, if an ABC extinguisher is meant for use with Class B fire hazards, you would distribute them such that the travel distance is no less than 50 feet, as opposed to using the 75-foot guideline for Class A.