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Important:
The followingWISHArule applies to the placement,use, maintenance, testing of and portable fire extinguishers provided for the use of employees.Your local fire marshall also enforces fire codeswhich address fire safetythat are more comp rehensiveand may go beyond WISHArules.

Yo u must Provideportable fire extinguishers in your workplace WA C 296-800-30005 ..................................................................... P age300-3 S elect and distributeportable fire extinguishers in your workplace WA C 296-800-30010 ..................................................................... P age300-3 M ake sue that po r rtable fire extinguishers a keptfully charged, re in operating condition, left in theirdesignated and places WA C 296-800-30015 ..................................................................... P age300-5 Inspectand test all po rtable fire extinguishers WA C 296-800-30020 ..................................................................... P age300-5 Train yourem ployees use portable fire extinguishers to WA C 296-800-30025 ..................................................................... P age300-9

-Conti uedn

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YOUR RESPONSIBILITY: To provide readiy accessi appropriateportable l ble, fire extinguishes for em pl yees in your workplace r o

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WAC 296-800-300 (Continued)
E x e m p tio n s :

You are exem ptfrom the requi em entsof portable fire extinguishers r if
you have the following: A w rittenfire safetypolicythat requi es the im m ediate total r and evacu ation em ployees f the workplacehen the is afire of rom w re alarm signal An em ergency actionplan and a fire preventionplan w hichm eet the requi em entsof WAC 296-24-567 r Portablefire extinguishers yourw orkplace aren't accessible in that for em ployee use. If anotherW IS H Arule requies portable fire extinguishers, you r then m ust com ply ith these w requirements. W here extinguishersre providedbut aren't intendedfor employee a use andyou have an em ergency plan and a fire prevention action plan (w hichm eet the requi em entsof WAC 296-24-567), then only r the requi em entsof WAC 296-800-30020 r apply. N o te : The introductionhas im po inform ationaboutbuilding,electrical rtant and fire codesthat m ay applyto you in additionto W IS H Arules. See How do the W IS H Arulesrelateto building,fire and electrical codesin the IntroductionSection of this book.

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R

WAC 296-800-30005 Provide portable fire extinguishes in your workplace r Yo u must

Provideapproved portable fire extinguishers for your workplacedistribute and themso theyare readilyaccessible. M akesure that your portable fire extinguisher doesn'tuse extinguishing agents such as carbon tetrachloride chlorobrom om ethane or extinguishing agents. In addition, soda-acid foam ,loadedstream ,anti-feezeand waterextinguishers r of the inverting type shallnot be recharged placedinto service. or

M ount, locate, identifyportable fire extinguishers so em ployees easilyreach and can them ,w ithoutbeingsubjected possibleinjury. to

WAC 296-800-30010 Selectand distri ute portable fire extinguishes in your workplace b r
E x e m p tio n :

Thisdoesn'tapplyto the potable fire extinguishersrovidedfor r p

em ployees to use outside orkplace of w buildingsor structures. You are exem pt from the distribution rem entsof this rule if you requi have an em ergency actionplan (that m eets rem entsof requi WA C 296-24-567): W hich designates certain em ployees to be only em ployees the authorized use the available to portable fire extinguishers R equi all oth erem ployees the fire area to immediately res in evacuate a the ffectedw ork a uponthe sounding thefire rea of alarm.

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WAC 296-800-30010 (Continued) Yo u must
Providethe cor type of po rect rtable fire extinguishers and distribute them in your w orkplace, depending the type, on size, and severity ofre that could fi occu r. Thetype of portable fire extinguishers havein yourw orkplace you dependson the types fi e haza that exist in your of r rds workplace.

Portable Fire Extinguishers

Wood, cloth, paper, rubber (ClassA Fire Hazards) Liquids,grease,gases (ClassB Fire Hazards)

No more than75 feet (22.9m) Note:You m ay use unifo ly spaced standpipesystem sor rm hose stationsinsteadof ClassA portable fire extinguishers, if they meetthe requirem entsof WAC 296-24-602 296-24-607 or No more than50 feet (15.2m) Note:You m ay chooseto use a sm allerfire extinguisher lieu in of thatrequired for the 50foot distance. you chooseto have If the sm allerfire extinguishe the traveldistancem ustnot be r, greater than 30 feet. See UFC Standa 10 Chapter3 for the basic rd minimum extinguisher rating allowed. Distributeany ClassC portable fire extinguishers the sam epattern that you have for any ClassA or ClassB fire hazards. Note:If the electricalequipmentis de-energized, you m ay use a ClassA or ClassB portable fire extinguishe r. No more than75 feet (22.9m)

Live electrical equipment& circuits (ClassC Fire Hazards)

Powde flakes,& r, residuefrom combustiblemetals, like m agnesium & titanium,that build up over a 2-weekperiod (ClassD Fire Haza rds)

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WAC 296-800-30015 Make sure that portable fire extinguishes are kept fully charged, in r opera condition, ble and left in their designated places Yo u must
M akesure that fire extinguishers foundwith deficiencies rem oved are from service and replacedw ith a suitable extinguisher. fire

WAC 296-800-30020 Inspectand test all po rtable fire extinguishers Yo u must

P erform inspections: M akesure thatportable fire extinguishers hosesystem s or (usedinsteadof fire extinguishers)re visually inspected a monthly. P erform m aintenance checks: M ake su that all po re rtable fire extinguishersre subjected an annual a to m aintenance check. Keeprecords of all annual m aintenance checksm ake available the and to depa entuponrequest. rtm
For 1 yearafterthe last m aintenance check For the life of the shell,w hichever less. is

M ake su that equal re protectionis providedw hen potable fire extinguishers r are rem ovedfrom servicefor m aintenance and recharging.

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WAC 296-800-30020 (Continued) u
E x e m p tio n : M ost sto pressu extinguishers don't re an inte exam ination. red re requi rnal Exam ples of those thatrequi e an inte exam inationre those do r rnal a containing loadedstream agent. a

Yo u must
P erform hydrostatictesting:
E x e m p tio n :

Portable Fire Extinguishers

Dry chem ical extinguishers that have refillabledisposable non

containers exem pt are from thisrequirement. M anually ressurizedpu m ptanks exem pt p are from thisrequirement.

Yo u must
M ake su that potable extinguishersre hydrostatically re r a tested A t the intervals listedin Table 1, this section. of W henever showevidence corrosionor m echanical they of injury. N ot pe rform hydrostatictestingon fie extinguishers r if: The unit has been red by soldering, elding, repai w brazing, use of or patching compounds. T hecylindero r shellthread sare damaged. C or osionhas causedpitting,includingcorrosionunderrem ovable r nam eplate assemblies. Theextinguisher beenburned in a fire. has C alciumchlorideextinguishing agentshave been usedin a stainless steel shell.
N o te : Specificrules regarding conducting hydrostatictestsare cove in red WA C 296-24-59212.

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WAC 296-800-30020 (Continued) Yo u must
M aintain records show ing that hydostatictestinghas been r perform ed. Providethe following evidence the depa entuponrequest: to rtm D ateof test. Tes tpressu used. re Theserialnum be, or otheridentifier the fire extinguisher w astested. r of that P erson a gencyperform ing the test. or Keeprecords until: T heextinguisher retested is Theextinguisher takenout of service, hichever is w com esfirst. Em pty and aintain sto ressu dry chem ical m red-p re extinguishers requiringa 12-year hydrostatictest, eve 6 years. ry W henrecharging hydrostatictestingis perform ed, the 6-yearrequi em ent or r beginsfrom thatdate.

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WAC 296-800-30020 (Continued)
Hydrostatic Test Table
Type of Extinguisher Stored pressure water and/or antifreeze Wetting agent Foam (stainless steel shell) Aqueous film forming form (AFFF) Loaded stream Dry chemical with stainless steel Carbon dioxide Dry chemical, stored pressure, with mild steel brazed brass or aluminum shells Halon 1211 Halon 1301 Dry powder, cartridge or cylinder operated, with mild steel shell N o te : D ue to a m anu factu recall,stored pressu w ater extinguishers w ith rers re a fiberglass shell (pe-1976)are prohibitedfrom hydostatictesting. r r Test Interval (Years) 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 12 12 12 12

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WAC 296-800-30025 Train your empl yees to use portable fire extinguishers o Yo u must
Train your em ployees wre you have rovidedportable fire extinguishers for he p their use in: Thehaza involved ith incipient rds w stagefire fighting(the earlystageof a fire whenit can be extinguished a portable fire extinguisher). by Thegeneral principles fire extinguisher of use. Providethe training hen they re first hi and thenannually. w a red
H e lp fuTo o l: l Tra in in g o c u m e n ta tioonrm D F Thissam pleTrainingD oc um entation Form can help you dem onstrate in w ritingthat each ployee ho needs em w traininghas receivedand understood You can find a copyof this sam ple in theR esouce it. form r Section of this book.

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