Can I replace my existing traditional fire extinguishers, in our office with the Fire Safety Stick instead?

Well, it’s not necessarily impossible but it’s certainly not something you can quickly and easily do. Please make sure you read the following carefully first.

Firstly, we must clarify a few things…

The fire safety regulations and guidelines are quite complicated with many not really fully understanding the requirements. There are certainly many misconceptions. The senior management team here at Fire Safety Stick have many years of experience within the fire safety industry. Our MD used to own one of the UK’s leading fire safety companies, not only installing fire alarms, smoke ventilation and other life safety systems but also the supply, installation and servicing of commercially installed fire extinguishers. As a result, we have based our installation and inspections based upon industry guidelines and recommendations by organisations such as BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Excellence/Equipment). As well as the legislation covered by the Regulatory Reform Order 2005.

Also, another crucial point to note is that the Fire Safety Stick is not a pressurised container fire extinguisher unlike nearly all other extinguishers available in the world. Inside is a solid resin which remains so until activation. Therefore, the usual British Kitemark for which all pressurised extinguishers must have in the UK is not relevant here. (For more information about the Fire Safety Stick and its certifications, please see here.)

In order to replace existing traditional fire extinguishers with the Fire Safety Stick, the responsible person for the business must go through the following steps which can be quite involved. We have successfully completed the process for our own premises and a very small number of others have done so. But we believe, until the knowledge and understanding of this innovative fire extinguisher is better known across the country, including by the fire safety industry, it may make much better sense to simply have the Fire Safety Sticks installed as well as existing traditional units, and simply have the sticks as that first line of defence.

Key Points to be aware of:

New Independent Fire Risk Assessment,

An updated Independent Fire Risk Assessment needs to be carried out by a qualified, independent fire risk assessor. If the assessor is to recommend the Fire Safety Stick as a possible replacement to traditional extinguishers, then they  should have a thorough understanding of the product. Unfortunately, many assessors are not fully aware of the Fire Safety Stick and so may have some understandable ignorance around it. However, if you do need an introduction to an independent fire risk assessor who has taken the initiative to investigate this new technology, we can introduce you to several different ones based around the country. The fire risk assessor will advise whether it is realistic to have the Fire Safety Stick installed in the premises or not.

If your existing independent fire risk assessor is not familiar with the Fire Safety Stick, they are very welcome to visit our offices, have a thorough, free of charge, training and live demonstration of using the stick, so that they are fully aware of the product, its capabilities, its possible uses and equally where it would not be suitable.

An updated fire safety strategy

If a suitable fire risk assessment has been created for the Fire Safety Stick installations by the independent fire risk assessor, then the premises fire safety strategy must be updated accordingly, either by that independent risk assessor themself or by the RPO directly upon their recommendations.

Your local Fire and Rescue Service.

Regional fire services will make regular visits to non-private dwellings/premises and if they visit, they must be satisfied that the premises are fire-safe. They will want to ensure that they are satisfied with the Fire Safety Strategy, and this will cover all aspects of the premises (and its use) fire safety systems, not necessarily just the fire extinguishers. In the vast majority of cases, if the responsible person for the premises has adhered to the fire safety strategy from an independent fire risk assessor, then there should not be an issue at all.

Insurance approval

Typically the insurance company will only want to ensure that the premises adheres to the fire safety strategy based upon the recommendations of an independent fire risk assessor. But insurance companies opinions and requirements can vary but your fire risk assessor will likely advise you should you need to advise your insurance company accordingly.

Of course, if you are implementing the Fire Safety Stick in addition to keeping your existing serviced and maintained fire extinguishers, as per your current correct fire risk assessment, then that is absolutely fine and you do not need to go through any of the above steps.