# Prepare an inventory and service brief

Lesson 1 of [Buy extinguisher inspection and recharge](https://extinguishers.fyi/academy/buy-extinguisher-inspection-and-recharge.md), 12 minutes.

A useful service request starts with the equipment and property rather than a request for the cheapest visit. CCOHS recommends written maintenance records including serial number and type, location, inspection date, description of tests, next inspection date, annual service date, comments and the inspector's signature. These fields provide a foundation for a buyer's service brief. The brief suggested here organizes a purchase; it is not a prescribed legal form.

## Build the starting list

Gather existing records and walk through the locations for which you are responsible. List the location, visible identifying information and type of each extinguisher. Note a location that your records say should contain equipment but is empty. Mark unknown information as unknown. An unreadable serial number should prompt a question, not a made-up identifier that could later be mistaken for a manufacturer's marking.

Keep location and cylinder identity separate. A location describes a position in the property; a serial number identifies a particular unit. If a provider later replaces a cylinder, the record should show that change. Otherwise a future reader could apply the old service history to different equipment. This is a suggested record-management practice based on CCOHS's recommendation to record both location and serial number.

## Explain the reason for the visit

Describe whether the request concerns routine service, a visual concern or equipment after use. Include observations such as an obstruction, visible damage, broken seal or pressure indication outside the recommended range where a gauge is fitted. USFA identifies access, pressure and condition as important readiness checks. Use descriptions of what was seen rather than declaring an unverified technical diagnosis.

Supply available service history. Ask how missing information affects the provider's recommendation. A gap in your files does not prove what work was or was not performed. Request assessment of the uncertainty rather than choosing an interval by memory or assuming all cylinders need the same technical work.

## Describe the property

Explain the activities in the areas covered by the request. Ordinary materials, energized electrical equipment, cooking oils and combustible metals present different classification questions in the cited guidance. Ask whether the existing equipment matches the hazards. Do not assume that a multipurpose ABC label answers a commercial cooking or metal hazard question.

Include practical access arrangements: who meets the technician, which rooms require a contact and how the provider reports equipment it cannot reach. These are suggested coordination questions. They help prevent the service record from silently treating inaccessible equipment as completed. Ask the provider to explain the applicable local requirements and manufacturer instructions behind its proposed work.

## Define the handover

Name who can approve additional work and who receives the findings. Request a report against the inventory, including equipment not serviced and concerns left unresolved. CCOHS says only trained persons with suitable testing equipment and facilities should perform service. Ask who will do the work and how the provider demonstrates suitable competence for the task.

End the brief by asking for a clear scope and an explanation of what happens if equipment is removed from service. Confirm arrangements with the responsible site person and relevant authority. You are buying an explained outcome for identifiable equipment. The inventory, observations and property context make proposals easier to compare and the completed work easier to review.

## Sources

- https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/fire_extinguishers.html
- https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prepare-for-fire/fire-extinguishers/

Also on the [web page](https://extinguishers.fyi/academy/buy-extinguisher-inspection-and-recharge/prepare-an-inventory-and-service-brief).