Fire extinguisher inspection, tags and placement
Checked at least once every twelve months, kept fully charged, tagged when serviced, and mounted where anyone can reach it. Each rule below is the Fire Code's, with its page.
Written for the Philippines. Quoted from the 2019 Revised IRR of RA 9514, the Fire Code.
Which extinguisher to buy for which kind of fire is on the fire extinguisher types page. This one is about keeping it usable.
How often it must be checked
"Preventive maintenance audit of fire extinguisher shall be conducted periodically by the building owners or persons responsible in accordance with the PNS No 27:1984, at least once (1) every twelve (12) months."
"If after inspection it shows that servicing is necessary, it shall be performed by the legitimate supplier/manufacturer duly licensed by DTI."
Section 10.5.3.3, page 326
Between checks:
"Portable fire extinguishers shall be maintained in a fully charged and operable condition, and kept in their designated places at all times when they are not being used."
Section 10.2.6.9 E.2, page 67
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
Fire extinguisher expiration
The Fire Code sets no expiry date for a portable extinguisher. This site read the whole IRR for one on 30 September 2026 and found none. The extinguisher section mentions six-year maintenance labels and hydrotest labels once, only to say they are among the labels that need not sit on the front face (Section 10.2.6.9 E.10, page 68).
What it does require, instead of a date:
- A preventive maintenance audit at least once every twelve months (Section 10.5.3.3, page 326).
- The unit kept fully charged and operable at all times (Section 10.2.6.9 E.2, page 67).
- The label shows the date of original filling of the container (Section 10.5.3.2 B, page 326).
- Servicing only by a supplier or manufacturer licensed by the DTI (Section 10.5.3.3, page 326).
A seller may still print a date on a unit, and a servicing firm may advise replacing one. Those are theirs to state. The Fire Code's own test is the yearly audit.
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
What the service tag must say
Whenever any person duly qualified by the DTI or its equivalent services a fire extinguisher, a tag shall at least indicate:
- The month and year the services are performed
- The chemical name and formula of the contents
- The type of extinguisher serviced
- The name, address, contact details and certificate of registration number of the servicing firm
Section 10.5.3.2 C, page 326
If a tag is missing any of those four, the service was not recorded the way the Fire Code asks. Removing the tag is itself against the rules, in the list below.
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
Where it goes, and how high
- Where it can be reached "Fire extinguishers shall be conspicuously located where they will be readily accessible and immediately available in the event of fire. Preferably, they shall be located along normal paths of travel, including exits from areas." Section 10.2.6.9 E.3, page 67.
- Not hidden "Fire extinguishers shall not be obstructed or obscured from view, except in large rooms, and in certain locations where visual obstruction cannot be completely avoided, arrows, lights, signs, or coding of the wall are the acceptable means of identifying its location." Section 10.2.6.9 E.6, page 67.
- On a hanger or bracket "Portable fire extinguishers other than wheeled types shall be securely installed on the hanger or in the bracket supplied or placed in cabinets or wall recesses." Section 10.2.6.9 E.7, page 67.
- Not locked away "Cabinets housing fire extinguishers shall not be locked, except where fire extinguishers are subject to malicious use, locked cabinets shall be permitted to be used, provided they include means of emergency access." Section 10.2.6.9 E.5, page 67.
- Instructions facing out "Fire extinguishers mounted in cabinets or wall recesses shall be placed so that the fire extinguisher operating instructions face outward." Section 10.2.6.9 E.11, page 68.
Mounting height
"Fire extinguishers having a gross weight not exceeding eighteen kilograms (18 kg) shall be installed so that the top of the fire extinguisher is not more than one and a half meter (1.5 m) above the floor. Fire extinguishers having a gross weight greater than eighteen kilograms (18 kg), except wheeled types, shall be so installed that the top of the fire extinguisher is not more than one meter (1 m) above the floor. In no case shall the clearance between the bottom of the fire extinguisher and the floor be less than one hundred millimeters (100 mm)."
Section 10.2.6.9 E.9, page 67
For an extinguisher of 18 kg or less, that means the top of it no higher than 1.5 m and the bottom at least 100 mm off the floor.
Heat
"Water-type fire extinguishers, ex. water, Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), Film Forming Fluoro-Protein (FFFP), shall not be installed in areas where the temperatures are outside the range of four degrees Celsius to forty-nine degrees Celsius (4 °C - 49 °C). All other types shall not be installed in areas where temperatures are outside the range of negative four degrees Celsius to forty-nine degrees Celsius (-4 °C - 49 °C)."
Section 10.2.6.9 E.13, page 68
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
The extinguisher each hazard level needs
Table 7 of the IRR, for Class A hazards (Section 10.2.6.9 G.2.a, Table 7, page 69). Each bar is the minimum rating for that hazard level. The higher the hazard, the stronger the extinguisher and the less floor each one may cover.
- Low
- Low hazard: at least 2-A, no more than 15 m to walk to it, up to 200 m² each.
- Moderate
- Moderate hazard: at least 3-A, no more than 12 m to walk to it, up to 100 m² each.
- High
- High hazard: at least 4-A, no more than 10 m to walk to it, up to 75 m² each.
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
How many a building needs
The IRR sorts rooms into three hazard levels and sets a minimum rating, a walking distance and an area for each. Its own examples of each level:
- Low (light) hazard: offices, classrooms, churches, assembly halls, guest room areas of hotels/motels (Section 10.2.6.9 C.1, page 66)
- Moderate (ordinary) hazard: dining areas, mercantile shops, and allied storage; light manufacturing, research operations, auto showrooms, parking garages (Section 10.2.6.9 C.2, page 66)
- High (extra) hazard: woodworking, vehicle repair, aircraft and boat servicing, cooking areas, individual product display showrooms (Section 10.2.6.9 C.3, page 67)
| Hazard | Minimum rating | Maximum walk to it | Maximum area each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 2-A | 15 m | 200 m² |
| Moderate | 3-A | 12 m | 100 m² |
| High | 4-A | 10 m | 75 m² |
| Hazard | Minimum rating | Maximum walk to it | Maximum area each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 5-B | 10 m | 200 m² |
| Moderate | 10-B | 10 m | 100 m² |
| High | 40-B | 10 m | 75 m² |
"Two 2-A rated fire extinguisher, provided they are installed adjacent to each other, may be used to fulfill the requirements of one 3-A or 4-A rated extinguisher." (Section 10.2.6.9 G.2.a, Table 7, page 69)
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.
What is against the rules
The Fire Code's list of prohibited acts for extinguishers (Section 10.5.3.5, page 327), less one item about thermal units in large rooms:
- Removal of inspection tags attached to fire extinguishers.
- Refilling a discharged extinguisher with an extinguishing agent other than what the unit was designed to contain.
- Selling extinguishers not appropriate to the hazard.
- Selling any extinguisher prohibited under Section 10.5.3.4 of this RIRR.
- Selling defective or substandard extinguishers.
- Installing pressure gauges in fire extinguishers that do not indicate the actual pressure of the interior of the fire extinguisher, such as but not limited to, using defective or not calibrated gauges; not providing, or blocking the connection between the gauge and the interior; or fixing/tampering the indicator or needle to indicate a certain pressure.
Source: Bureau of Fire Protection, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, revised 2019. Read 30 September 2026. Read from the BFP file RA9514-RIRR-rev-2019.pdf. bfp.gov.ph blocks automated readers, so the page may ask a person to pass a check. Page numbers are the ones printed at the foot of each page.