Training at your Santa Monica business
A small fire gives people a few seconds to act. Training decides what they do with them. We come to your business address in Santa Monica and walk your staff through the extinguishers mounted in their own building, so the lesson matches what they would grab in a real fire.
If you provide portable extinguishers for employees to use, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157(g) requires training for those employees when they're hired and at least once a year after that. Plan for new hires too, since they start between sessions.
What staff learn
- Fire classes: A for ordinary combustibles, B for flammable liquids, C for energized electrical, D for combustible metals and K for cooking oils and fats.
- How to read the label and tell which classes each of your units is rated for.
- The basic steps of using an extinguisher, often taught as PASS (pull, aim, squeeze, sweep).
- The monthly check NFPA 10 asks of the owner: gauge, pin, tamper seal and tag.
- When to stop and get out.
Have a kitchen? Kitchens with a hood suppression system also need a Class K extinguisher, so cooks should be able to find it and tell it apart from the dry chemical units around it; our Santa Monica kitchen fire service page covers the hood system side.
Get the extinguishers in service first
A training session is a bad time to find an empty unit. Check the tags first. In California, extinguisher maintenance must be done by a firm and technician licensed by the State Fire Marshal under Title 19. Our California work is done by Hedrick Fire Protection, which holds C-16 (fire protection) and C-10 (electrical) contractor licenses and is State Fire Marshal licensed under Title 19 for portable extinguisher service.
Recent Santa Monica quotes have run $30 to $40 per extinguisher for annual service and $75 to $85 plus tax for a new 5 lb unit. Details are on our extinguisher annual certification and extinguisher refill pages.
Santa Monica Fire Department and training records
Santa Monica has its own city fire department. The Fire Prevention Division of the Santa Monica Fire Department inspects fire protection systems for compliance with the Santa Monica Fire Code and issues annual fire permits. Does your permit or inspection call for proof of extinguisher training? Ask them at (310) 458-8915. Then keep whatever they want on file before the inspector arrives.
Booking a session
Pick the day first. Training works best when most of the staff can be in the same room, so check shifts and time off before you call.
Then reach us at (213) 568-0188 or socal@1profire.com with the date, the street address (we work in ZIP codes 90401 through 90405) and roughly how many people will attend.
For other services, start at our Santa Monica fire protection page; outside the city, see extinguisher training in Los Angeles County and extinguisher training in Orange County.
Santa Monica extinguisher training questions
We need to gather all our employees first. Can we confirm a date later?
Yes. Call when you have a date that works for most of your team, and we'll book the session around it.
How soon can someone come out?
It depends on that week's schedule. Call (213) 568-0188 with a few dates and ask for the earliest opening.
Why did my gauge drop from green to red after light use?
Once an extinguisher has been fired at all, even briefly, the valve may not reseal fully and the remaining pressure can bleed off over the following weeks. It needs a recharge from a licensed technician.
How often do employees need extinguisher training?
Where you provide extinguishers for employees to use, OSHA asks for training at hire and at least yearly.