Fire Extinguisher Training in San Bernardino County

Does the OSHA rule cover your crew?

Start with one question. Do you provide portable extinguishers for your employees to use? If the answer is yes, OSHA rule 29 CFR 1910.157(g) applies, and every one of those employees has to be trained when they start the job and again at least once a year.

New hires count from day one. The rule is the same in Chino and in Twentynine Palms.

That makes the calendar part of the job. A business with steady turnover or a second shift needs first sessions for new people and a yearly refresher for everyone else, so it pays to set the next date before the current session wraps up.

What the training covers

Most of a good session is about judgment. Employees learn the five fire classes and which extinguisher fits each one:

• Class A: ordinary combustibles such as paper, wood and cloth
• Class B: flammable liquids
• Class C: energized electrical equipment
• Class D: combustible metals
• Class K: cooking oils and fats

Kitchens with a hood suppression system also need a Class K portable. Cooks should know which unit is theirs.

We go over how to aim and discharge an extinguisher. We also cover the decision every trainee has to make in the first few seconds: is this fire small enough to fight, or is it time to get out and call the fire department? Often, leaving is the right answer.

Whoever handles the owner's monthly visual check learns what to look at: the pressure gauge, the pin and tamper seal, the hose or nozzle, and the date on the tag. It takes a minute per unit.

Your training and your equipment get checked separately

Two sets of rules apply in your building. Training is an employer duty under OSHA. The extinguishers themselves fall under California Fire Code Section 906, and an inspector checks the annual service tag on each one.

Which fire office does that inspection depends on your city. The San Bernardino County Fire Office of the Fire Marshal handles inspections for cities including Adelanto, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Hesperia, Needles, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Upland and Yucca Valley. Some cities have their own agency. Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District, for one, runs its own Prevention Bureau under its own Fire Marshal.

Not sure which applies? Ask the fire marshal for your address.

We also have training pages for fire extinguisher training in Fontana, fire extinguisher training in Rancho Cucamonga and fire extinguisher training in Ontario.

Trained staff, serviced extinguishers

Training only helps if the extinguishers on the wall are charged and in date. In California our work is done by Hedrick Fire Protection, which holds C-16 and C-10 contractor licenses and is licensed by the State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for portable extinguisher service.

That means one team can handle both sides. We do annual fire extinguisher service, six-year teardowns and hydrostatic testing of extinguisher cylinders, and kitchens can add hood suppression service. Up the road in Victorville, we serviced 23 outdoor extinguishers for a carnival and fitted them with tags built to last outside (read the Victorville carnival case study).

Book a session

Call (909) 219-9411 or email socal@1profire.com. Tell us the city, roughly how many people need training and which shifts they work, and we'll pick a date from there. For other systems in the county, see all fire protection services in San Bernardino County.

Fire extinguisher training questions

How often do employees need extinguisher training?

At hire, then at least once a year. That applies whenever you provide portable extinguishers for employees to use (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157(g)).

Does training replace the annual extinguisher service?

No. Training is for your people, while the yearly maintenance is for the equipment and has to be done by a State Fire Marshal licensed technician, who records it on the tag.

Who inspects the extinguishers at my business?

It depends on the city. County Fire's Office of the Fire Marshal covers many cities, and some, like Rancho Cucamonga, have their own fire district, so check with the fire marshal for your address.

What should kitchen staff learn?

Which unit is the Class K. Kitchens with a suppression system need one for cooking oil and grease fires.