Technicians servicing portable fire extinguishers with plastic heads should remain cautious despite a recently revised standard, the British Fire Consortium has said.

Plastic heads 'still a danger'

The revised version of BS5306-3:2009 calls for all heads to be replaced when they are five years old, but older and corrupted products are still in use, the trade association warned.

Graham Newman, president of the British Fire Consortium, said: “Plastic heads are subject to degradation and can react ... when the extinguisher is pressurised. This situation is even more likely if the service technician tries to dismantle the extinguisher.

"There are still a lot of extinguishers with plastic heads older than five years out in the field but at least service technicians can be a little more confident as these heads gradually get removed. Should a technician come across one, our advice would be, rather than stand over it to remove the head, it should be laid on its side, with the head facing away from you, before removing it carefully, with gentle use of a rubber mallet if required - ensuring that at all times, you are not in the line of fire from both the head or the body.”

Mr Newman added: “Technicians should be aware that some unscrupulous companies have been known to make the valve look like new during a basic service using black shoe polish or WD40, but of course this just masks the fault for next year’s engineer. It’s also important to realise that this revision should not be used as an excuse to simply condemn the extinguisher and sell a new one – every attempt should be made to give the customer the option of having a new replacement plastic head first, if available. ”

The warning, issued earlier this week, used the experience of service engineer Steve Clark to drive its message home.

Mr Clark, who lost a finger and suffered severe facial injuries when an extinguisher he was decommissioning exploded in his face, said: “I was lucky it didn’t kill me. I was holding the extinguisher with my left hand, leaning over it ready to remove the head, when it simply exploded. The head shattered into pieces, shooting the cartridge up to the ceiling like a rocket, and breaking my jaw as it went past.”

British Fire Consortium