Inspection, servicing and hydrostatic testing of extinguishers

The annual inspection

A.951(23) paragraph 9.1 requires periodical inspection to the manufacturer’s instructions and service at intervals not exceeding one year. Paragraph 9.1.3 says service and inspection should only be done by, or under the supervision of, a person with demonstrable competence, using the inspection guide in table 9.1.3.¹ The annual part of that guide:

The UK MCA adds that plastic collars and similar covers that may hide the condition of the cylinder must be removed for the inspection.⁸

Inspection at recharge, and the five- and ten-year work

When an extinguisher is recharged, table 9.1.3 calls for three checks. Water and foam charges that are to be reused are checked for suitability. Powder must be free-flowing, with no caking, lumps or foreign bodies. Gas cartridges are examined for damage and corrosion.¹

At five-yearly intervals, at least one extinguisher of each type manufactured in the same year is test-discharged as part of a fire drill (paragraph 9.1.1).¹ After the test discharge, and at the five- and ten-year inspections, the guide requires these checks¹:

• air passages, vent holes, hose, nozzle strainer, discharge tube and breather valve, operating and discharge controls, cleaned and lubricated as required;
• safety pin removable and lever undamaged;
• gas cartridge weighed and within prescribed limits;
• O-rings checked, and hose diaphragms replaced if fitted;
• interior of water, foam and powder bodies inspected for corrosion and lining deterioration;
• after recharge: reassembled to the maker’s instructions, maintenance label filled in with the full weight, mounting bracket checked, and a report completed.

At intervals not exceeding ten years, all extinguishers and their propellant cartridges are hydraulically tested to the recognised standard or the manufacturer’s instructions (paragraph 9.1.2).¹ The test pressure is one of the markings A.951(23) paragraph 8.1 requires on every extinguisher. At manufacture, bodies with a service pressure up to 2.5 MPa are tested to 5.5 MPa or 2.7 times the normal working pressure, whichever is higher (paragraph 4.2).¹

How UK practice labels the same work

The UK MCA’s MGN 276 maps A.951(23) onto the service levels of BS 5306-3⁸:

Primary sealed units go back to the manufacturer or supplier for recharge.⁸

Wheeled (mobile) extinguishers

Large wheeled units come under MSC.1/Circ.1432 rather than A.951(23)⁴:

• Monthly: in place, properly arranged and in proper condition (5.9).
• Annually: inspected to the maker’s instructions, accessible parts examined, cylinder hydrostatic test date checked, and powder units inverted to agitate the powder (7.12).
• Every 5 years: at least one of each type and year of manufacture visually examined (9.6).
• Every 10 years: all units and propellant cartridges hydrostatically tested by specially trained persons (10.5).

Spare charges

SOLAS regulation II-2/10.3.3.1 requires spare charges for 100% of the first ten extinguishers and 50% of the remaining extinguishers that can be recharged on board, with not more than sixty spare charges in total. Recharging instructions must be carried on board. For extinguishers that cannot be recharged on board, the ship carries extra extinguishers of the same type, capacity and number instead (10.3.3.2).² Count each type separately, and round fractions up to the next whole number, as Liberia and the Marshall Islands state.⁵⁶

Worked example. 25 rechargeable 6 kg powder extinguishers: 10 + 50% of 15 = 10 + 7.5, rounded up to 18 spare charges. With 140 extinguishers of one type the formula gives 10 + 65 = 75, so the cap applies and 60 spare charges are enough.

Only refills approved for that extinguisher may be used (FSS Code chapter 4, paragraph 3.1.2).³ A discharged extinguisher is recharged or replaced at once (SOLAS regulation II-2/14.2.1.2), and Liberia and the Marshall Islands add that partially emptied extinguishers should also be recharged.²⁵⁶

Condemning and disposing of extinguishers

Reject any extinguisher with corrosion, dents or damage that may affect safe operation, which is the external examination item of table 9.1.3.¹ The Seacross investigation added lessons for the ship⁹:

• Mount extinguishers on brackets off the deck, so moisture is not trapped under the base. Give units exposed to the weather extra protection.
• Have condemned extinguishers emptied and disposed of by a suitably qualified specialist, not by the crew.
• When you do discharge an extinguisher (for example at the five-yearly test discharge), follow the maker’s instructions and keep the body away from yours.
• Do not accept a service certificate at face value. Look at the extinguishers yourself after the contractor leaves.

Who may do the work

The IMO text asks for “demonstrable competence”. Flags define it:

• Liberia accepts crew servicing of powder, foam and water extinguishers if the ship has calibrated tools and the maker’s instructions, the crew hold advanced fire-fighting training and are competent in the tasks of table 9.1.3, and the class surveyor is satisfied. Hydraulic tests go to a facility certified by a government agency or classification society and by the manufacturer, and the same facility should recharge the cylinder afterwards.⁵
• Marshall Islands: hydrostatic testing facilities must be certified by a government agency or recognised organisation, and accepted by the ship’s recognised organisation or the manufacturer.⁶
• Cyprus (where the manufacturer gives no other recommendation): third-party inspection at intervals not exceeding two years, contents checked yearly with recharge when the loss exceeds 10%, and internal inspection with a hydrostatic test by a third party at intervals not exceeding ten years.⁷
• United Kingdom: basic and extended services may be done on board under the supervision of an officer with an STCW II/2 or III/2 unlimited certificate and advanced fire-fighting.⁸

Records

A.951(23) paragraph 9.2 requires records showing the date of inspection, the type of maintenance and whether a pressure test was done.¹ The maintenance label on each extinguisher shows the last service and the full weight.¹⁸ Keep the service supplier’s report and the hydraulic test certificates with the ship’s records.