How to use a fire extinguisher
Pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the handle, sweep from side to side. That is PASS. Bureau of Fire Protection officers teach three other things to do before you pick the extinguisher up.
This page is one part of keeping a house safe from fire. The rest, from stopping a fire starting to the first minutes of one, is in the fire safety tips for the home.
First, the three A's
At a seminar for the Employees' Compensation Commission, an officer of the BFP Community Relations Unit in Makati set out the order. Fighting the fire comes third.
- 1
Activate
the building alarm system.
- 2
Assist
any person in immediate danger, without risking yourself.
- 3
Attempt
to put the fire out, and only after the first two are done.
Source: Employees’ Compensation Commission, Fire safety seminar for ECC employees (21 March 2022). Read 1 October 2026. Given by FO1 Sherry Mae Sanchez of the Bureau of Fire Protection Community Relations Unit in Makati City. The three A’s and PASS are her wording as the ECC reported it.
Then PASS
Four steps, in this order. Both seminars below teach the same four.
-
Pull
Pull the pin. The Mauway Fire Sub-Station teaches a twist of the pin before the pull, and calls the method TPASS.
-
Aim
Aim at the base of the fire.
-
Squeeze
Squeeze the handle.
-
Sweep
Sweep from side to side.
Source: Employees’ Compensation Commission, Fire safety seminar for ECC employees (21 March 2022). Read 1 October 2026. Given by FO1 Sherry Mae Sanchez of the Bureau of Fire Protection Community Relations Unit in Makati City. The three A’s and PASS are her wording as the ECC reported it.
Source: Office of the Vice President, OVP Holds Fire Prevention Seminar and Drill (23 March 2026). Read 1 October 2026. The lecture was given by representatives of the Mauway Fire Sub-Station.
The instructions are on the extinguisher
The Fire Code requires the operating instructions to be on the front face of the extinguisher and clearly visible (Section 10.2.6.9 E.10, page 68). One mounted in a cabinet or a wall recess has to be placed so that those instructions face outward (Section 10.2.6.9 E.11, page 68). So if you forget the steps, read the front of the cylinder. It is worth doing once now, with the extinguisher in your own house or office, rather than for the first time with a fire in front of you.
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.
Make sure it is the right one, and that it works
Not every extinguisher suits every fire, and every extinguisher has to be checked on a schedule. The Fire Code covers both, and these pages quote it by section and page:
- Fire extinguisher types and the classes of fire : which extinguisher the Fire Code allows for which fire.
- Fire extinguisher inspection, tags and placement : how often it must be checked, and what the tag must say.
- The fire drill procedure : the Fire Code's rules for drills in schools, offices and hotels.
Before the fire, and after the call
Most of what stops a house fire happens long before anyone needs an extinguisher. The fire safety tips cover that, and the numbers to call are one tap away.