Fire Extinguisher Training in Malibu

The yearly training rule for Malibu employers

Where an employer provides portable extinguishers for employee use, the federal OSHA rule at 29 CFR 1910.157(g) requires training when each person starts work and at least once a year after that. That applies here like anywhere.

Fire prevention and inspections in Malibu are carried out by the Los Angeles County Fire Department under the city's contract, because Malibu doesn't run its own fire prevention bureau. Local code questions go to them. We train staff at shops, restaurants and offices anywhere in town, from the Civic Center to Point Dume Plaza.

What happens during a session

Training takes place at your site. Our technician gathers staff in one group or several and walks them to the extinguishers on your walls, so each person knows where the nearest unit hangs and what its pin, gauge and nozzle look like. Then the trainer teaches PASS: pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the handle and sweep side to side. Staff hold and aim the units themselves. How long it runs depends on headcount. A small office goes faster than a restaurant with two shifts to cover.

Topics covered

• Reading the label. The common class letters are A for wood, paper and cloth, B for flammable liquids, C for live electrical equipment and K for cooking oils and fats.
• The monthly look. Owners check each unit monthly: gauge in the green, pin and seal in place, tag current and nothing blocking it.
• Knowing when to quit. If the fire is growing, smoke is filling the room or the unit runs empty, staff leave, close the door behind them and call 911.
• Kitchen crews. A kitchen with a hood suppression system also needs a Class K extinguisher, and cooks learn when to reach for it on a grease fire.

Keep a training record

Keep your own record of each session. A sign-in sheet with the date, every attendee's name and the trainer's name lets you show when each person was last trained if the question ever comes up.

Your extinguishers still need their own service

Training covers people, and the equipment has its own schedule: annual maintenance by a certified technician, recorded on the tag, plus a 6-year teardown and a 12-year hydrostatic test for stored-pressure dry chemical units. CO2, water and Class K units are hydro tested every 5 years. In California, a firm and technician licensed by the State Fire Marshal must do that work. Ours is done by Hedrick Fire Protection. Hedrick holds C-16 and C-10 contractor licenses and is licensed by the State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for portable fire extinguisher service.

See our Malibu pages for annual extinguisher certification, fire extinguisher service and extinguisher refills.

Booking training in Malibu

Send us your headcount, the number of shifts and the extinguisher types you have, if you know them. We confirm those details, then set a date. Your quote depends on headcount and site. Reach us at (213) 568-0188 or socal@1profire.com.

More on our work in town is on the Malibu fire protection page, and businesses elsewhere can see extinguisher training in Los Angeles County or extinguisher training in Orange County.

Malibu extinguisher training questions

Do you serve all of Malibu?

Yes. Malibu is in our service area, including ZIP codes 90263, 90264 and 90265.

Our emergency plan tells staff to evacuate. Do we still train?

The yearly rule is written for employers who provide extinguishers for employee use. If your plan has everyone leave and nobody is expected to pick up an extinguisher, ask your safety advisor how the rule applies to your workplace.

Does training count as our annual extinguisher inspection?

No. The annual tag comes from a separate maintenance visit by a licensed technician.