• Provide portable fire extinguishers and mount, locate, and identify them so that they are readily accessible to employees without subjecting the employees to possible injury. 1910.157(c)(1)
  
  
• Use only approved portable fire extinguishers. 1910.157(c)(2)
  
  
• Not use portable fire extinguishers that use carbon tetrachloride or chlorobromomethane extinguishing agents. 1910.157(c)(3)
  
  
• Assure that portable fire extinguishers are maintained, fully charged, operating properly, and kept in designated places at all times except during use. 1910.157(c)(4)
  
  
• Remove from service all soldered or riveted shell self-generating soda acid or self-generating foam or gas cartridge water type portable fire extinguishers that are operated by inverting the extinguisher to rupture the cartridge or to initiate an uncontrollable pressure generating chemical reaction to expel the agent. 1910.157(c)(5)

• Provide portable fire extinguishers for employee use and select and distribute the extinguishers based on the types of anticipated workplace fires and on the size and degree of hazard that would affect their use. 1910.157(d)(1)
  
  
• Ensure that the travel distance for employees to any Class A extinguisher is 75 feet (22.9 meters) or less. 1910.157(d)(2)
  
  
• The employer may use uniformly spaced standpipe systems or hose stations connected to a sprinkler system installed for emergency use by employees instead of Class A portable fire extinguishers, provided that such systems meet the respective requirements of 1910.158 or 1910.159, that they provide total coverage of the area to be protected, and that employees are trained at least annually in their use. 1910.157(d)(3)
  
  
• Ensure that the travel distance for employees to any Class B extinguisher is 50 feet (15.2 meters) or less. 1910.157(d)(4)
  
  
• Base the travel distance for employees to any Class C extinguisher on the pattern for the existing Class A or Class B extinguishers. 1910.157(d)(5)
  
  
• Ensure that the travel distance for employees from the combustible metal working area to any Class D extinguisher is 75 feet (22.9 meters) or less. Portable fire extinguishers for Class D hazards are required in areas where combustible metal powders, flakes, shavings, or similarly sized products are generated at least once every two weeks. 1910.157(d)(6)

• Inspect, maintain, and test all portable fire extinguishers in the workplace. 1910.157(e)(1)
  
  
• Visually inspect portable extinguishers or hoses monthly. 1910.157(e)(2)
  
  
• Perform an annual maintenance check on portable fire extinguishers. Stored pressure extinguishers do not require an internal examination. The employer must record the annual maintenance date and retain this record for one year after the last entry or the life of the shell, whichever is less. The record must be made available to the Assistant Secretary upon request. 1910.157(e)(3)
  
  
• Empty and maintain dry chemical extinguishers (that require a 12-year hydrostatic test) every six years. Dry chemical extinguishers that have non-refillable disposable containers are exempt from this requirement. When recharging or hydrostatic testing is performed, the six-year requirement begins from that date. 1910.157(e)(4)
  
  
• Provide alternate equivalent protection when portable fire extinguishers are removed from service for maintenance and recharging. 1910.157(e)(5)

• Assure that hydrostatic testing is performed by trained persons with suitable testing equipment and facilities. 1910.157(f)(1)
  
  
• Assure that portable extinguishers are hydrostatically tested at the intervals listed in Table L-1 of this section, except under any of the following conditions: 1910.157(f)(2)

• When the unit has been repaired by soldering, welding, brazing, or use of patching compounds; 1910.157(f)(2)(i)
  
  
• When the cylinder or shell threads are damaged; 1910.157(f)(2)(ii)
  
  
• When there is corrosion that has caused pitting, including corrosion under removable name plate assemblies; 1910.157(f)(2)(iii)
  
  
• When the extinguisher has been burned in a fire; or 1910.157(f)(2)(iv)
  
  
• When a calcium chloride extinguishing agent has been used in a stainless steel shell. 1910.157(f)(2)(v)

• Assure that an internal examination of cylinders and shells to be tested is made before the hydrostatic tests. 1910.157(f)(3)

• Assure that portable fire extinguishers are hydrostatically tested whenever they show new evidence of corrosion or mechanical injury, except under the conditions listed in paragraphs (f)(2)(i)-(v) of this section. 1910.157(f)(4)
  
  
• Assure that hydrostatic tests are performed on extinguisher hose assemblies that are equipped with a shut-off nozzle at the discharge end of the hose. The test interval must be the same as specified for the extinguisher. 1910.157(f)(5)
  
  
• Hydrostatically test carbon dioxide hose assemblies with a shut-off nozzle at 1,250 psi (8,620 kPa). 1910.157(f)(6)
  
  
• Hydrostatically test dry chemical and dry powder hose assemblies with a shut-off nozzle at 300 psi (2,070 kPa). 1910.157(f)(7) Hose assemblies passing a hydrostatic test do not require any type of recording or stamping. 1910.157(f)(8)
  
  
• Test hose assemblies for carbon dioxide extinguishers within a protective cage device. 1910.157(f)(9)
  
  
• Test carbon dioxide extinguishers and nitrogen or carbon dioxide cylinders used with wheeled extinguishers every five years at 5/3 of the service pressure as stamped into the cylinder. Nitrogen cylinders that comply with 49 CFR 173.34(e)(15) may be hydrostatically tested every 10 years. 1910.157(f)(10)
  
  
• Hydrostatically test stored pressure and Halon 1211 types of extinguishers at the factory test pressure, not to exceed two times the service pressure. 1910.157(f)(11)
  
  
• Test self-generating type soda acid and foam extinguishers at 350 psi (2,410 kPa). 1910.157(f)(12)
  
  
• Not use air or gas pressure for hydrostatic testing. 1910.157(f)(13)
  
  
• Remove extinguisher shells, cylinders, or cartridges that fail a hydrostatic pressure test, or that are not fit for testing. 1910.157(f)(14)
  
  
• Ensure that the equipment for testing compressed gas type cylinders be of the water jacket type. The equipment must have an expansion indicator that operates with an accuracy within 1 percent of the total expansion or .1cc (.1mL) of liquid. 1910.157(f)(15)(i)
  
  
• Ensure that the equipment for testing non-compressed gas type cylinders includes the following: 1910.157(f)(15)(ii)

• A hydrostatic test pump, hand or power operated, capable of producing at least 150 percent of the test pressure, which must include appropriate check valves and fittings; 1910.157(f)(15)(ii)(A)
  
  
• A flexible connection for attachment to fittings to test through the extinguisher nozzle, test bonnet, or hose outlet, as is applicable; and 1910.157(f)(15)(ii)(B)
  
  
• A protective cage or barrier for personal protection of the tester, designed to provide visual observation of the extinguisher under test. 1910.157(f)(15)(ii)(C)

• Maintain and provide upon request to the Assistant Secretary evidence that the required hydrostatic testing of fire extinguishers has been performed at the time intervals shown in Table L-1. Such evidence must be in the form of a certification record that includes:
  
  
  • The date of the test;
  • The signature of the person who performed the test; and
  • The serial number, or other identifier, of the fire extinguisher that was tested.
  
  Such records must be kept until the extinguisher is hydrostatically retested at the time interval specified in Table L-1 or until the extinguisher is taken out of service, whichever comes first. 1910.157(f)(16)

• Provide an educational program to familiarize employees with the general principles of fire extinguisher use and the hazards involved with incipient stage fire fighting. 1910.157(g)(1) Provide this education when employees are first hired and once a year thereafter. 1910.157(g)(2)
  
  
• Train employees (who have been designated to use fire fighting equipment) in the use of the equipment. 1910.157(g)(3) Provide this training when employees are first given this assignment and once a year thereafter. .157(g)(4)