Don't let your fire safety budget go up in smoke

In the recent economic climate, like many organisations councils have been under constant pressure to cut costs. West Sussex Council is responsible for the annual servicing of fire extinguishers in its buildings. Having engineers visit each year was an on-going cost that the council wished to minimise. 

Traditional fire extinguishers, made from painted steel with an inner protective lining can corrode, often get dented, burst if the contents freeze and can experience detachment of the inner protective lining. All of these issues will lead to the extinguisher being condemned at the annual extinguisher service, resulting in the requirement for their replacement.

This leaves the owners with replacement costs on top of the annual servicing charges, refilling charges every five years and the problem of supervising external sub-contractors onsite. In large areas, like oil refineries and production facilities, the cost for supervision of every sub-contract engineer and issuing safety instructions can be significant.

 

During the annual service, traditional, stored pressure extinguishers are visually inspected from the outside and the pressure of the extinguisher is checked. Every five years, the extinguishers are opened, emptied and the inside is inspected for rust or lining detachment. The chemicals within the extinguishers are usually not re-used due to the fear of contamination from rust or the impact of moisture. In short, most of the inspection activities are linked to the fact the extinguishers are made of steel, can corrode and can be dented.

 

This new fire extinguisher generation, the P50, is now overcoming this problem and is making fire extinguisher servicing a thing of the past. P50 extinguishers consist of an inner cylinder made from three-layered extruded plastics containing and protecting the chemicals of the fire extinguisher. The inner cylinder is tightly wrapped in aramid fibre that is, by weight, stronger than steel and used in the manufacture of bulletproof vests. This dense cocoon takes up the pressure in the extinguisher. An outer polyethelene shell protects the Aramid core against cuts, UV light and tampering. 

 

Safety advisor for the Sussex council, John Rodway, explains: "The real cost for organisations is not the initial purchase price of extinguishers, but the ongoing annual expense of having them serviced. Safelincs introduced us to the P50 maintenance-free appliances which, unlike conventional extinguishers, do not require an annual service by an external engineer.” 

 

The council installed 54 of the P50s in its buildings, mainly foam but also three powder versions for specialist areas.  A simple check is undertaken each year by one of the council’s staff, which is where the maintenance savings are made. The extinguishers are guaranteed for ten years, after which time they can be refilled and used in the same way for a further ten years.

 

"Installation and certification by one of the Safelincs’ BAFE certified engineers was included in the price,” continues Rodway. "At the same time the engineer demonstrated the straightforward annual checking process and if there is a change of staff, a short video on the Safelincs website runs through the procedure.”

Safelincs has supplied the P50s to a range of organisations including customers as varied as pig farms and oil refineries. For these particular customers the durability and non-corrosive attributes of the extinguishers are particularly relevant since they are used in areas that have constant exposure to the elements. 

 

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is the professional body for facilities management in the UK. The Institute delivers a range of services and benefits, including information, qualifications, continuing professional development, training and networking for over 13,000 individual and corporate members. In 2013 its chair, Ismena Clout gave her personal endorsement of the P50. "Sometimes a new product comes along that you know is going to alter the market, I believe that the P50 fire extinguisher is just such a product. It saves clients and FM companies money and ongoing maintenance headaches; it really is a game-changing product.”