Have you ever seen a fire extinguisher with a HAZCOM label (e.g., NFPA 704 or HMIS) and thought to yourself…that is overkill?
Well, actually, it is not overkill, and it may be a requirement for the facility under the HAZCOM standard when the extinguisher contains a hazardous chemical. OSHA defines compressed gas as a physical hazard, and therefore, most, if not all, of your fire extinguishers, technically need to be labeled under your HAZCOM program.
Are you telling me I have to go out and put an HMIS or NFPA Diamond on ALL my fire extinguishers? It depends. If your FE’s are already labeled by the manufacturer, as most are, then the answer is NO! However, we came across a large chemical complex that did their annual maintenance and refills in-house. They had their certification from the state fire marshall and everything. Because they were doing it in-house, they had gotten a bit lax and were not ensuring the original manufacturer’s label was intact. Keep in mind that extinguishers have a very long service life, and the original labels wear off, especially in harsh environments.
In 1993, OSHA posted this LOI to clarify the labeling of extinguishers.