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NFPA TODAY - APRIL 30, 2021 BACK TO BLOGS LANDING PAGE

Fire Extinguisher Placement Guide

BY BRIAN O'CONNOR

In the hands of trained personnel, portable fire extinguishers are the first line
of defense against incipient fires, but in order to be useful they need to be
accessible. This blog tackles the topic of portable fire extinguisher
placement, both how portable fire extinguishers should be distributed and
exactly where they are allowed to be placed.

The first step is to choose the correct extinguisher based on the fire risk.
Extinguishers are broken down into the following ratings:

Class A: Ordinary Combustibles

Class B: Flammable Liquids
Class C: Energized Electrical Equipment
Class D: Combustible Metals
Class K: Cooking Media

The distribution of portable fire extinguishers is a balance between having an

extinguisher nearby when you need it but not being overly burdened by the
cost and maintenance of having excessive extinguishers. Let us start off with
what NFPA 10 Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers requires.

When NFPA 10 addresses extinguisher placement it uses the term

“maximum travel distance to extinguisher”. This means that at any point
inside the building you should never have to travel more than the maximum
distance to reach an extinguisher. It is important to ensure the distance being
measured is the actual distance a person would need to walk to get the
extinguisher (as shown in Figure 1) and that occupants are not expected to
walk through walls.
The maximum travel distance is often the limiting factor but for certain Class
A extinguishers there is an additional floor area limitation. This maximum
floor area that a single extinguisher can cover is directly related to the
numerical A rating and level of hazard occupancy but reaches a maximum of
11,250 ft2. It is important to know both the maximum travel distance and
floor area per extinguisher since you need to follow the most restrictive of the
two. The following table, along with Table 6.2.1.1 and 6.3.1.1 of NFPA 10, will
help you determine the required travel distance and maximum floor area.
Let’s look at a specific example of a 6-A rated fire extinguisher in an ordinary
hazard occupancy. The maximum floor area is calculated by multiplying the
maximum floor area per unit of A by the numerical A rating, which gives us
the following:

This means that although the maximum travel distance is permitted to be up

to 75ft, if you were in a wide open area such as a large warehouse you
wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the entire 75ft travel distance because
of the limitations that the 9,000ft2 maximum floor area would present. Check
out the table below for a maximum floor area reference guide for Class A
extinguishers.
Let’s look at another example of an extinguisher with enough of an A-rating to
have a 11,250 ft2 maximum floor area, one might think you could space the
extinguishers every 150 ft since you would be 75ft from either extinguisher if
you were in the middle, but because most rooms are rectangular this creates
gaps where you would be further than 75 ft from an extinguishers (see sad
faces in the figure below).

Instead, portable fire extinguishers should be placed every 106 ft. to take
advantage of the coverage area per extinguisher and conforming to the
shape of most rooms (see Figure 4 below). This of course assumes that
there are no dividing walls that would impede the path to an extinguisher.
If Class A extinguishers are placed at the limit of their maximum travel
distance then people might have to travel the entire 75 ft to get the
extinguisher and then back another 75 ft to return to the fire in order to
extinguish it. Let’s say the average person travels 3.5 mph, this means it
would take them 30 seconds to travel the 150 ft it could take to grab the
extinguisher and get back to the fire. A lot can happen in 30 seconds.

When distributing portable fire extinguishers an additional level of complexity

is added when walls, obstructions and other structural features that limit
movement are taken into consideration.

Placement

Extinguishers need to be located along normal paths of travel. This is

because extinguishers should be available to occupants when evacuating.
You do not want occupants to move away from an exit and risk being trapped
by the fire when trying to retrieve an extinguisher. Extinguishers also need to
be installed in places where they’re visible, but if an obstruction is
unavoidable then there needs to be a sign provided to indicate the
extinguisher’s location.

Installation height

Extinguishers need to be installed at least 4 inches off the ground up to a

maximum of 5ft. The exception to this is for extinguishers heavier than 40
lbs, they can only be up to 3 ft 6 inches off the ground and wheeled fire
extinguishers don’t need to be off the ground since the wheels already keep
the cylinder from touching the floor.
Cabinets & Hangers

Extinguishers not on wheels are often installed on hangers or brackets, which

need to be intended for the extinguisher, but they can also be installed in
cabinets.

Conclusion

In my humble opinion portable fire extinguisher distribution and placement is

the trickiest part of installation. There is a balance between efficiency and
practicality that truly make a difference in the event of an emergency. I hope
everyone found this helpful, let us know in the comments below what you
think the toughest part of the job is.

For more information check out our NFPA Portable Fire Extinguisher Fact
Sheet. Annex E of NFPA 10 also has some more great information on fire
extinguisher distribution if you want to learn more about the topic.

Editor’s Note: I rounded to the nearest whole number for any calculations
performed in this blog.

Important Notice: Any opinion expressed in this column (blog, article) is the opinion of the author and
does not necessarily represent the official position of NFPA or its Technical Committees. In addition,
this piece is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or
services.

TOPICS:
Fire Protection Systems