Is training required before using a fire extinguisher?

OSHA's rule governs workplaces. It requires training for employees when their employer provides extinguishers for employee use. It does not set a general rule for everyone who might come across a fire.

Is hands-on practice required?

OSHA's rule calls for an educational program, plus training on the equipment for designated employees, but it doesn't spell out a hands-on drill. Certain paid courses let every participant practice on a simulated fire.

Fire extinguisher training: OSHA rules, PASS and class cost

What does OSHA require?

The governing rule is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157, specifically part (g). When you put extinguishers out for employees to use, you have to provide an educational program. It covers how the equipment works and the risks of trying to put out a fire in its incipient stage, meaning the early phase while the fire is still small.

Employees receive this instruction when they begin work, then at least once a year going forward.

Certain workplaces designate a crew to respond to fires under an emergency action plan, which is the written document describing what people do during a fire. Under this same rule, crew members train on the specific equipment they'll handle, both when they join and at least annually after that.

Buildings with hose stations meant for employee use come with the same obligation: those employees must also be trained at least once a year.

Employees practicing with a fire extinguisher during workplace fire safety training

When might the training rule not apply?

Some companies want everyone outside immediately when a fire breaks out. If your workplace has a written policy that everyone leaves right away and no extinguishers are available to employees, part (b)(1) of the rule gives you an exception.

There's also the situation of extinguishers mounted on walls that employees aren't supposed to touch. If you have both a written emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan, part (a) of the rule covers your situation. A fire prevention plan is the written document explaining how your workplace stops fires from starting. It's worth reading part (a) to see what still applies.

The PASS method for using an extinguisher

The U.S. Fire Administration teaches the technique as four steps remembered through the word PASS:

Pull the pin.
Aim low.
Squeeze the handle.
Sweep the nozzle side to side.

Should you fight the fire or leave?

Before reaching for an extinguisher, the USFA says to ask yourself 3 things:

Is the fire still small and under control?
Are you clear of the smoke?
Is your way out unobstructed?

A no to any one of these means don't try to fight it. Warn the people around you and get out, then call 911 once you're safely outside.

Hands-on classes and price

Presentations and videos can explain the technique, but a live drill lets people practice it. During one company's class, every participant discharges an extinguisher on a simulated fire.

One company charges $440 for a class of up to 10 people, plus $35 for each extra person.

Say you're a warehouse safety lead with 25 new hires to train by the end of the month. At that price, one class for all 25 would be $440 for the first 10 people plus $35 for each person after that.

Some states run their own programs, and Louisiana's training office offers a range of extinguisher courses.

Keeping extinguishers ready between classes

None of the training matters if the extinguisher fails at the critical moment. OSHA requires a monthly visual inspection of every extinguisher. Per the NFPA, no certificate is needed for that monthly inspection.