Training, inspection and servicing at your workplace, delivered by ASTTBC-certified technicians across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
Most workplaces have extinguishers on the wall. Far fewer have people who could use one under pressure. When a fire starts, you have seconds, not minutes, and a unit nobody has checked in a year, or a team that has never practised, won’t help much.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Most businesses only think about extinguishers when an inspector or insurer asks. This page explains what training, inspection and servicing involve, what BC expects, and how to tell quickly which of the three your workplace is actually missing.
Search for fire extinguisher services and you’ll find three different jobs hiding under one name: training your people, inspecting and tagging the equipment, and recharging or replacing units that have given up. Plenty of businesses sort out one and assume the other two are fine. They usually aren’t, and an audit is where that shows. We do all three, so you only deal with one company.
Nobody wants to figure out an extinguisher while a fire is burning. It’s loud, the smoke stings, and your hands don’t work the way they did in the break room. So, our fire extinguisher training happens in your own building, next to your own extinguishers. No rented classroom.
Sessions run 45 to 60 minutes. You’ll go through:
Your actual fire risks: the kitchen, the electrical panel, the storage room, whatever is really in your building
Which extinguisher fits which fire, since the wrong one can make things worse
The PASS method: pull the pin, aim at the base, squeeze the handle, sweep side to side, with everyone practising the motions hands-on
Your way out, because you should know your exit before you go near a fire
When to walk away
That last one sticks with people. If the fire is spreading fast, the room is filling with smoke, or there’s no clear exit behind you, you leave. An extinguisher is for small fires. Knowing where that line sits matters as much as knowing how to squeeze the handle.
Everyone who finishes gets a certificate of completion to keep on file. The people named in your Fire Safety Plan as first responders to small fires are the ones who need it most.
Training covers your people. Inspection covers the gear, and the two get confused a lot.
Someone on site should look over each extinguisher about once a month. Check for:
A gauge in the green
The pin and seal still intact
No dents, rust or other damage
A clear, easy-to-reach spot, not buried behind boxes
Once a year, a certified technician has to do a full fire extinguisher inspection and tag the unit. Some types also need longer-interval maintenance and pressure testing.
We handle the annual visit and leave you with the paperwork, so when an inspector or insurer asks, you’ve got it ready. Not sure what the BC Fire Code expects of your building? Ask us, and we’ll go through it with you.
Extinguishers are rated for the type of fire they’re built to fight. Here’s the short version:
|
Class |
What is burning |
Common in |
Suitable extinguisher |
|
A |
Paper, wood, fabric |
Offices, retail, storage areas |
ABC or water |
|
B |
Flammable liquids such as petrol and oil |
Workshops, garages, loading areas |
ABC, BC or CO2 |
|
C |
Energized electrical equipment |
Server rooms, electrical panels |
ABC or CO2 |
|
K |
Cooking oils and fats |
Commercial kitchens |
Class K (wet chemical) |
Most offices and shops do fine with multi-purpose ABC units. Commercial kitchens usually need a Class K on top of that. Not sure what you’ve got? We’ll check during a site visit.
An extinguisher that’s been used is done until it’s serviced, even if you only gave it a few seconds. It won’t hold full pressure, so it needs recharging or replacing. Anything your monthly check turns up goes down the same route.
Changes to your space matter too. A new kitchen, new electrical equipment or a rearranged floor can leave you with the wrong extinguisher in the wrong spot. We can usually handle fire extinguisher recharge, repair or replacement during the inspection visit, so it’s one appointment.
Plenty of companies come up when you search, and they’re not all the same. Before you book, ask whether they’ll come to your site, whether your staff will handle an extinguisher or just watch a video, and whether you’ll get certificates and inspection tags you can file. Ask, too, if they teach when not to fight a fire, and whether they’ll ask about your building before training day. If nobody asks about your site, expect a generic session.
Rather than operating from a single central location, our teams regularly travel to serve businesses directly, including:
Vancouver — offices, retail, strata buildings, and commercial facilities across the city.
Surrey — warehouses, industrial sites, and growing commercial developments
Burnaby — office parks, retail centres, and mixed-use buildings
Richmond — commercial facilities, warehouses, and retail businesses
Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam & Port Moody — offices, strata properties, and light industrial sites
New Westminster, North Vancouver & West Vancouver — commercial buildings and property-managed sites
Langley, Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows — construction sites, warehouses, and commercial teams
Abbotsford, Chilliwack & Mission — industrial, agricultural-adjacent, and commercial facilities
We regularly schedule training in additional BC communities depending on the site and can usually confirm availability quickly.
We’ve been at this for more than 12 years across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. These days we finish over 350 projects a year, and we’ve written more than 100 fire safety plans for BC businesses. Our technicians are ASTTBC-certified, and our work follows the applicable BC fire safety standards. In practice, whoever turns up has been inside buildings like yours and knows what an inspector wants to see.
If it’s been over a year since your last training, or there never was one, and new people have joined since, it’s time. Same if nobody on your team could say which extinguisher suits an electrical fire and which suits a grease fire, or if an audit or insurance review is coming and the paperwork isn’t ready. People forget this stuff faster than you’d think.
For workers who may need to use one, yes. WorkSafeBC expects employers to make sure those workers are trained to use an extinguisher properly.
No. We use simulated extinguishers, so your team can practise aiming, sweeping and making decisions without smoke or residue.
Once a year is a sensible rhythm, and again whenever new people join who may need to use an extinguisher. Skills fade quickly when nobody practises.
It depends on group size, location and what you need done. Send us the details and we’ll give you a clear number.
An extinguisher only helps if it works and the person next to it knows what to do. Training, inspection and servicing each cover a different piece. Miss one and you have a gap, and it’s far easier to close it now than after an incident.
Otis Fire Protection will come to your workplace anywhere in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, train your team, tag your extinguishers and replace the ones that need it. Tell us a bit about your site, and we’ll put a plan together. Request a Training Quote.
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