Water-based Portable Fire Extinguishers manufactured and certified to BS EN3-7 and their safety for use on live electrical equipment

All Fire extinguisher manufacturers and suppliers listed at the foot of this document confirm their full support for the following position.

Most Portable Fire Extinguishers manufactured and sold in the UK market are sold as compliant with European Product Standard EN3, adopted by the UK as BS EN3. The standard, BS EN3, details all the performance testing and other requirements for the manufacture of safe extinguishers. Responsible manufacturers prove the safety of their products by seeking 3rd Party assessment and certification to the standard. Successful 3rd Party assessment and certification allows manufacturers to apply the certification mark of the awarding laboratory to their products.

The testing and certification to the product standard BS EN3, is often misunderstood by installers and end users alike. Because of this, we wish to clarify specifically, the aspect of water-based extinguishers and their use on live electrical equipment.

Electrical Safety of Water-based Extinguishers Successfully Tested to Clause 9 of BS EN3-7
Within BS EN3-7 there is a ’35kV dielectric test for water-based extinguishers’ (Clause 9) that, if the test is passed, confirms that the product can be used safely on live electrical equipment up to a 1000 Volts. BS EN3 allows a manufacturer, after successful completion of the test, to mark their product with the following words: ‘Suitable for use on Live Electrical Equipment up to 1000V at a distance of 1 metre’. Such markings therefore clearly confirm that an extinguisher is safe for use on live electrical equipment.

Our clear belief is that product safety is the sole responsibility of the product standard, in this case, BS EN3. It should not be possible for any chosen voluntary code of practice or any other guidance document, to contradict the safety of a product that has been successfully proven by 3rd party testing to the relevant product standard.

In conclusion, any extinguishers that carry a 3rd party certification mark, issued by a relevant laboratory, confirming compliance with BS EN3, that are also marked with the words: ‘Suitable for use on Live Electrical Equipment up to 1000V at a distance of 1 metre’, have the assurance from that certifying laboratory that the product is safe to be used on live electrical equipment.

Furthermore, we advise that the safety of a certified product as ‘Suitable for use on Live Electrical Equipment up to 1000V at a distance of 1 metre’, can be independently verified by seeking confirmation from the relevant certifying laboratory. To identify the product to the laboratory, just look for the laboratory mark, their certificate number, and the manufacturers product code, all clearly marked on the extinguisher.

We will therefore continue to mark our certified products as allowed by the product standard, BS EN3.