In Saudi Arabia, the business that holds the license is responsible for keeping its fire extinguishers ready to use. The Civil Defense regulation for shops requires monthly inspections and periodic maintenance of firefighting equipment, servicing by a specialized technical body, and a stamped safety record kept on the premises (Civil Defense shops regulation). In practice, your own staff check each extinguisher once a month, an accredited contractor services and refills them, and you write both down.
Who is responsible for fire safety in your premises?
Under the shops regulation, the licensee is responsible for safety in all circumstances. It makes the safety officer (the applicant, in the regulation’s words) responsible for monthly inspections and periodic tests of the safety and firefighting equipment, and for prompt repairs. Failing to do so counts as gross negligence (shops regulation).
That regulation covers licensed shops of any business or technical activity, unless the activity has its own regulation. Hospitals, pharmacies, bakeries, hotels and storage warehouses each have one, so look up your sector in the Civil Defense regulations list first.
Government bodies and the private institutions named in a Minister of Interior decision must also appoint or assign a safety officer, or hire an engineering or technical office approved by Civil Defense to do the job (safety officer regulation).
In a small restaurant, this usually falls to the branch manager. Write the name down so nobody assumes someone else is checking.
What the regulations say about extinguishers
How many, and where
The shops regulation allocates one extinguisher per 100 m². Any shop, however small, needs at least two 12 kg dry chemical powder extinguishers and one 10 kg CO2 extinguisher for the electrical installations, with more added for size and risk. Extinguishers go near doors and exits, where people can see and reach them. Your Civil Defense center has the final word on types and numbers after it reviews your drawings and inspects the site (shops regulation).
Kitchens need a different extinguisher
Where no Saudi standard exists, the regulation points to US or European standards (shops regulation). The US standard, NFPA 10, calls for Class K extinguishers wherever cooking oils and fats can catch fire, within 30 ft (9.1 m) of travel from the hazard (Amerex). If your kitchen relies on powder extinguishers beside the fryers, ask your safety contractor.
Servicing and the tag on each cylinder
Extinguishers must be kept ready to use and checked periodically by a specialized technical authority, following the manufacturer’s instructions. The inspection and refill dates go on a card attached to each one (shops regulation). Civil Defense’s safety instructions assign this work to the approved agent or a specialized technical body accredited by Civil Defense (Civil Defense safety instructions).
Hose reels, alarms and sprinklers
Hose reels, one per 200 m² of each floor, must be tested regularly. Alarm and automatic extinguishing systems are installed, tested and maintained by specialized technical companies according to the manufacturer’s instructions (shops regulation). The regulation gives no fixed interval for these systems, so have your contractor’s visit schedule written into the contract.
How often: the NFPA 10 schedule
The regulation leaves the intervals to the manufacturer’s instructions. NFPA 10, the US standard, sets these:
| Task | Who does it | NFPA 10 interval |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection (a quick visual check) | A member of your staff | At least once every calendar month, never more than 31 days apart (NFPA 10) |
| Maintenance (a thorough examination) | A trained technician | At least once a year, and sooner if a monthly check finds a problem (Minnesota Department of Health) |
| Internal examination | A trained technician | Every 6 years for stored-pressure dry chemical; every 5 years for CO2 and wet chemical (MDH) |
| Hydrostatic (pressure) test | A tester with the right equipment | Every 5 years for water, CO2, wet chemical and stainless-steel dry chemical; every 12 years for other dry chemical (MDH) |
Treat this table as a starting point, not as your legal schedule. Your accredited contractor or local Civil Defense center can confirm what applies to your premises.
Who may service your extinguishers?
Your own staff can do the monthly inspection. Maintenance and pressure testing need a trained technician with the right tools, parts and service manual. NFPA 10 also leaves responsibility with the building owner rather than the service company (MDH), much like the Saudi rule.
Civil Defense publishes its list of accredited safety companies on the Salamah platform (Civil Defense). A valid maintenance contract for safety systems is one of the documents needed to apply for a safety license through the Safety Portal (Safety Portal).
Before you sign with a contractor, confirm that:
- The company appears on the Civil Defense list of accredited companies.
- The contract names every system it covers, such as extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, hose reels and emergency lighting.
- The visit schedule is written into the contract, not left to phone calls.
- You get a report after each visit listing every extinguisher, its condition and any parts replaced.
- Any extinguisher taken away for service is replaced by one suited to the same hazard, with at least the same rating (MDH).
The records to keep
The main document is the safety and firefighting record. Under the shops regulation, it follows the Civil Defense form and Civil Defense stamps every page. It records all periodic tests, inspections and maintenance, and it stays in the facility or the shop’s management office, available to the Civil Defense representative at any time (shops regulation).
Entities under the safety officer regulation keep a similar record, paper or electronic, that also logs training and emergency drills, held at least once a year (safety officer regulation).
For each extinguisher, record these details, whether you use the official register, a spreadsheet or software:
| Field | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| ID and location | RYD2-KIT-03, kitchen, by the back door | Shows where each unit belongs |
| Type and size | CO2, 10 kg | Sets the service and test intervals |
| Serial number and manufacture date | Taken from the cylinder label | Cylinders can be swapped during servicing |
| Monthly inspection | Date and the inspector’s initials | NFPA 10 asks for both, on a tag, a checklist or an electronic record (MDH) |
| Annual maintenance | Month, year, technician and company | Should match the contractor’s tag (MDH) |
| Internal examination and pressure test | Month and year of each | Tells you when the next one is due |
| Problems and actions | Gauge low, sent for recharge, loan unit fitted | Shows you acted on what you found |
Monthly fire extinguisher inspection checklist
Set aside fifteen minutes in the first week of each month. The items follow the NFPA 10 inspection points (MDH):
- The extinguisher is in its designated place.
- Nothing blocks access to it or hides it from view.
- The gauge needle is in the green, operable range.
- It feels full when you lift it.
- The safety pin and tamper seal are in place and unbroken.
- There are no dents, corrosion or leaks, and the nozzle is clear.
- The operating instructions are legible and face outward.
- The contractor’s service tag is present and in date.
- In the kitchen, the Class K unit your contractor specified is next to the cooking line.
- Record the date and your initials.
Fix anything that fails straight away. A gauge out of range, or a unit whose fullness you cannot confirm, needs full maintenance rather than a wait for the next scheduled visit (MDH).
Common mistakes
- Relying on the annual tag. It proves the contractor came once, not that the extinguisher is charged and in place this month.
- Putting a used extinguisher back. A broken seal can mean someone released a small amount that the gauge does not show (MDH). Send it for service.
- Stock stacked in front of extinguishers. Storage fills up in busy seasons, so look for this on every monthly round.
- Keeping the safety record at head office. It belongs in the branch, where the Civil Defense representative will ask for it.
- Leaving each branch on its own. With eight cafés, you should not have to phone eight managers to learn who missed a check.
Running monthly checks across several branches
Treat each extinguisher as an asset with its own ID and service dates, and give every branch a monthly plan with one named owner. Our guide to building a preventive maintenance plan explains the method, and our article on QR, barcode and RFID tags shows where to label a cylinder without covering the service tag.
In Usool, you set up a preventive maintenance plan with the checklist above and a monthly frequency. The plan creates a work order on schedule and reminds the person assigned to it. If someone finds an empty extinguisher between checks, they can scan its QR label with a phone camera and send a report without installing an app (features). The Basic plan includes up to 25 preventive maintenance plans, and Growth and Pro have no limit (pricing).
To be clear, Usool is not accredited by Civil Defense, and it does not replace the stamped safety record or your contract with an accredited company. It is a tool for scheduling the checks and keeping their dates and photos in one place, which makes them easy to copy into the official record.
FAQ
Is the annual service tag on the extinguisher enough?
No. The shops regulation requires monthly inspections as well as periodic maintenance (shops regulation). The tag only shows one contractor visit.
Can our own staff do the monthly inspection?
Yes. NFPA 10 allows facility staff to do the monthly visual check (MDH). Servicing, refills and pressure tests go to a technical body approved by Civil Defense (Civil Defense safety instructions).
What happens if maintenance falls behind?
The shops regulation treats missed monthly inspections and periodic tests as gross negligence, and Civil Defense handles violations under its regulation on inspection, investigation and penalties (shops regulation). We do not quote penalty amounts here, so ask your Civil Defense center or contractor what applies. The practical fix is to book the overdue service, carry out the monthly check and record both.
How do I check that a contractor is accredited?
Search the list of accredited safety companies that Civil Defense publishes on the Salamah platform (Civil Defense).
Monthly checks are easier to keep up when the reminder arrives on its own. You can try Usool free for 14 days with every Growth feature and no card: register one branch’s extinguishers, set up the monthly plan and see whether the reminder reaches the right person.