OSHA Regulations for Fire Extinguisher Accessibility

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says employers must provide portable fire extinguishers for employees to use to fight manageable fires in the workplace. These extinguishers must be readily accessible by employees in locations that will not subject them to possible injury in case of an emergency. Areas with different types of flammable materials have different classifications and different regulations for fire extinguisher placement.

Class A

• Class A areas are classrooms, offices, assembly halls and so forth. Paper, furniture and other flammable but not particularly reactive materials would be a fire's primary fuel source in this category. In Class A areas, at least one fire extinguisher must be installed for every 3,000 square feet, no further than 75 feet walking distance from any employee.

Class B

• Class B areas are workshops, storage areas, research laboratories, automotive garages, warehouses or manufacturing areas. Fire extinguishers must be kept no further than a 50-foot walk from any employee in such areas. Class B areas with light-duty fire extinguishers are required to have them within 30 feet of employees.

Class C

• Class C areas contain energized electrical equipment. Fire extinguisher placement requirements are the same as for Class B areas, but fire extinguishers containing a fire suppressant designed for use on electrical fires are required.

Class D

• Class D areas contain combustible metal powders, shavings or flakes. If such materials are generated in an area more than once every two weeks, a Class D fire extinguisher must be installed, no further than 75 feet from the site the materials are generated.

Class K

• Class K locations are those containing combustible cooking materials like vegetable or animal oils and fats. Fire extinguishers must be installed no further than 30 feet from where these materials are stored.

Mounting Regulations

• Fire extinguishers must be mounted on wall brackets or stored in wall cabinets with their carrying handle between 3 1/2 to 5 feet from the floor. Larger or heavier extinguishers should be mounted lower, with their handles about 3 feet above the floor.