Smoke out unlawful servicers
WHEN last did you check the pedigree of the company servicing your fire extinguishers?
According to John Caird, vicechairman of the body charged with regulating this industry, substandard servicing of fire extinguishers can lead to accidents, injuries and even death.
Also, if there is a fire on a business premises and the insurance company sees that the extinguishers weren’t registered with the South African Qualification and Certification Committee for the Fire Industry (SAQCC Fire), they could decline to pay out.
So says Gary Brown, owner of Mul-T Service Solutions, who added that if a business is found to be using fire extinguishers that have been serviced by an unregistered technician, it could be slapped with a R100 000 fine.
Caird, vice-chairman of SAQCC Fire, said it was a legal requirement for a company working in the field of fire suppression and fire extinguishers to register with the body.
“We are regulated by the Department of Labour (DoL) and control the education and training of fire suppression and extinguishers. We certify people to train others. If a technician passes training they are awarded a licence. The SABS [South African Bureau of Standards] is in charge of quality control,” Caird said.
Explaining that fire extinguishers are high pressure vessels which, if not properly maintained can explode and possibly kill someone, he said registered technicians were controlled by disciplinary hearings, which, depending on the offence, could result in anything from a warning up to deregistration from the SAQCC.
However, the SAQCC does not have control over unregistered technicians and it was up to the public to ensure that the company or technician they used to maintain the fire extinguishers were registered with the SAQCC.
Caird encouraged customers of fly-by-night companies to open a case of fraud with law enforcement, report them to the DoL and demand a refund.
And these companies are using SABS or SAQCC logos on their extinguishers, Caird said that they could be reported to SABS.
“If one of these fire extinguishers explodes and injures an employee it is you who will be held responsible,” he said.
To ensure that you are using a legitimate business, ask to check the technician’s SAQCC Fire ID which should have on it their name, the name of the company they are working for and a picture of the technician.
You can also go to this link: https://www.saqccfire.co.za/ where you will be able to type in the name of the technician or company to see if they are registered.