Does your Highland business keep portable extinguishers on the wall for employees to grab? Then those employees need training. Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157(g), an employer who provides portable extinguishers for employee use must train workers when they're first hired and at least once a year after that, and an extinguisher nobody knows how to use doesn't protect anyone. Extinguishers are what Highland callers ask us about most. Training is the piece people skip.
What your staff learn in a session
A session is usually short and built around your building. Topics typically include:
- Fire classes and the extinguisher that fits each one: A for paper, wood and other ordinary combustibles, B for flammable liquids, C for energized electrical equipment, D for combustible metals and K for cooking oils and fats.
- Reading the label and the pressure gauge.
- The PASS method: pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the handle, sweep side to side.
- When to stop and get out.
- The monthly visual check that the owner or staff do between professional services.
Portable units empty fast. A first-timer often wastes part of the discharge aiming at flames instead of the fuel, so the useful part of training is the plan: who calls 911, who grabs the extinguisher, which exit everyone uses, and what size fire is too big to fight.
Restaurant kitchens on Base Line and Greenspot Road
Highland expects new restaurants and retail along Base Line Street and Greenspot Road. Kitchens need their own lesson. Any kitchen with a hood suppression system also needs a Class K portable extinguisher, and cooks should know where it hangs and that water or the wrong agent can spread burning grease across a line. For the hood system itself, see commercial kitchen fire protection in Highland.
Your fire marshal, and our license
Highland contracts with CAL FIRE for fire protection and emergency response, run through the city's own Highland Fire Department. Fire prevention sits with that department's Fire Prevention office. Want to know what an inspector expects to see in your building? Call the Fire Marshal at (909) 864-6861 ext. 248. The city's fire code is Chapter 15.06 of its municipal code, the California Fire Code with local amendments, and portable extinguishers fall under CFC Section 906; ask the Fire Marshal which edition is in force.
Our California work is done by Hedrick Fire Protection. Hedrick holds C-16 and C-10 contractor licenses. It's also licensed by the California State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for portable extinguisher service.
Training and maintenance are separate jobs. If the class turns up an expired tag or a cylinder that's been partly used, book annual extinguisher certification in Highland or a fire extinguisher refill; for new installs and six-year teardowns, see fire extinguisher service in Highland.
To schedule training in Highland, call (909) 219-9411 or email socal@1profire.com
Have sites elsewhere in the region? See extinguisher training in San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Los Angeles County, or go back to the Highland fire protection hub for every service we list in the city.
Highland extinguisher training questions
How often do employees need extinguisher training?
At hire, then yearly. That's the OSHA rule for employers who provide portable extinguishers for employee use.
Who do I ask about fire code requirements for my Highland business?
Start with the Fire Prevention office at the City of Highland Fire Department. The Fire Marshal's line is (909) 864-6861 ext. 248.
Is training the same as the annual extinguisher service?
No. Training teaches people; the annual service is maintenance by a State Fire Marshal licensed technician, recorded on a tag on each unit, and your business needs both.
Does a restaurant need different training?
Yes, in part. Kitchen staff should learn where the Class K unit is and why water makes a grease fire worse.