Fire Extinguisher Refill in Los Angeles County

Our California work is performed 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.

Any use means a refill

Partial use counts. If someone pulled the pin and squeezed the handle for even a second, the extinguisher lost agent and pressure, and it may sputter out the next time someone grabs it for a real fire. Standard trade practice is to recharge after any use. The same applies to a unit with its needle in the red, a broken tamper seal or a missing pin. Pull any of those from service and set it aside until a technician can refill it.

What goes back in the cylinder

Each unit gets the agent listed on its label. Mixing two kinds of dry chemical can cake inside the valve and keep it from discharging, so we match the agent the manufacturer lists on every unit we refill.

• Dry chemical. The common red unit in offices, shops and warehouses. Multipurpose ABC powder covers ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and energized electrical equipment. Some older units hold BC powder only.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2). Rated for flammable liquids and electrical fires. It leaves no residue.
• Water. Class A only: paper, wood, cloth and trash.
• Wet chemical. This is the Class K unit for cooking oils and fats, and any kitchen with a hood suppression system needs one; see our kitchen fire suppression service in Los Angeles County.

Recharge, refill and the dates on the cylinder

Refill and recharge are one job. The unit gets new agent, new pressure, a fresh seal and a tag recording the service. Before any of that, the technician reads the cylinder's dates, because a unit that is due for a test has to pass it before it can be refilled.

• Stored-pressure dry chemical: internal maintenance (a full teardown) every 6 years.
• Dry chemical: hydrostatic test every 12 years.
• CO2, water and wet chemical: hydrostatic test every 5 years.

A cylinder that fails is retired. If several of your dates fall close together, book hydrostatic testing in Los Angeles County or fold the work into your annual extinguisher certification.

After a fire on a big floor

In the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County, from Long Beach up to Vernon, Montebello, Whittier and La Mirada, warehouses line the I-710 corridor and intermodal rail yards run through Commerce and Vernon. On a floor that size, one fire can empty more than one unit. Workers grab whatever is closest. Afterward, walk the area and check every gauge and pin within reach. The unit nobody remembers using is often the one that fails later. If employees are expected to use extinguishers, OSHA requires training at hire and at least once a year after that; we run fire extinguisher training in Los Angeles County.

Your inspector, by address

An inspector reads the tag on a refilled unit. Which inspector? In unincorporated areas and the 59 county contract cities served by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, its Fire Prevention Division does annual business inspections through North, Central and East regional units. The City of Los Angeles has its own fire department (LAFD). Burbank and some other cities run their own fire prevention bureaus.

The most recent confirmed edition of the County Fire Code (Title 32 of the County Code) amends the 2022 California Fire Code, and Section 906 of the California Fire Code covers portable extinguishers. Ask your fire marshal which edition applies to your building.

More Los Angeles County pages

Start at the Los Angeles County fire protection hub, or see our full fire extinguisher service in Los Angeles County. City pages: extinguisher refill in Downey, extinguisher refill in Carson and extinguisher refill in Burbank.

For extinguisher work inside the county, read about our bilingual, fast-turnaround extinguisher service for a La Puente restaurant that had an inspection coming up.

Refill and recharge questions

Can I refill an extinguisher myself?

No. California's Title 19 requires extinguisher service by a firm and technician licensed by the State Fire Marshal.

The gauge is still green, and I only used it for a second. Is it fine?

Treat it as empty. Powder left in the valve seat can let pressure leak out over the following days, so today's reading says little about next week.

Do you refill Class K kitchen extinguishers?

Yes. They get wet chemical, the agent on their label.

Will it need a refill or a replacement?

Check the dates and the cylinder. A unit that is damaged, corroded or fails its hydrostatic test gets replaced; otherwise a refill puts it back in service.

To schedule a fire extinguisher refill or recharge in Los Angeles County, call (213) 568-0188 or email socal@1profire.com