Fire extinguishers cannot be put on the floor as they have a risk of toppling over and injuring a person. In the Singapore Standard’s Clause 1.7.7, it is mentioned that free standing fire extinguishers may be placed on shelves or on the floor if these fire extinguishers are designed for such form of placement on appropriately designed support to prevent accidental dislodgement.
This also means to say that we actually can put it on the floor if we have a way to prevent it from toppling over accidentally.
Is it against the law to put a fire extinguisher on the floor?
Unfortunately, it is against fire code regulations if placed directly on the floor. There are only three methods to place a fire extinguisher in a commercial building that is to be protected from fire hazards. Fire extinguishers must be easily seen from afar or with the help of a fire extinguisher signage. Hiding a fire extinguisher out of sight is considered to be against fire safety code. Portable fire extinguishers provided shall be installed and conspicuously marked.
1. Hang it on a wall hook from a height of 1 to 1.2m from the floor (Depending on weight of fire extinguisher)
2. Place it in a red fire extinguisher cabinet.
3. Place it on the floor with a stand which prevents it from easily toppling over.
Why does everyone want to put their fire extinguisher on the floor?
The simple reason is that many people find it troublesome to install a wall bracket into the wall as this creates a hole in the wall permanently. It could also be because they are afraid of knocking it off the wall brackets. Nobody wants a fire extinguisher to land on their feet. Finally, many people find a fire extinguisher ugly and try to hide it away from sight.
However, there are just as many dangers of placing a fire extinguisher on the floor. The main reason would be it is difficult to locate a fire extinguisher when a fire occurs. By placing the fire extinguisher on the floor, we remove it out of our natural line of sight. This is both a fire hazard and one of the things that SCDF officers look out for during their building inspections. Being unable to find a fire extinguisher would mean the area is as good as unprotected in the event of a fire. Portable fire extinguishers are only helpful against small fires. After a certain amount of time has passed and the fire has grown out of control, a fire extinguisher would be of no use.
What possible solutions are there?
A very simple solution to allow you to continue placing the fire extinguisher on the floor would be to purchase a Stainless Steel Floor Stand. The floor stand itself prevents the fire extinguisher from being easily toppled over and does not require any wall drilling. It is a simple and elegant solution for a complex problem.
