Where should fire extinguishers be carried?
The conditions are
- Easily accessible to the vehicle crew
- Protected against the effects of weather
Fire extinguishers may be carried anywhere on the transport unit provided those conditions are met. Typical problems that arise are
- Corrosion of fittings of the protective container making it hard to access the extinguisher. Where this occurs it suggests that it is not examined as part of daily or other routine checking of the vehicle and its equipment
- Inspection records being scraped off as the extinguisher is lifted in and out of the container
- The extinguisher being hard to find in the cab
- Sometimes the plastic tab fitted to prevent accidental operation of the extinguisher is replaced by a stout cable tie. These can only be broken if a sharp tool is available. The use of cable ties for this purpose is not acceptable.