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Cabinets & signage · Chosen to code

Fire extinguisher cabinets and signage so every unit is easy to find

An extinguisher only helps if someone can find it and reach it in seconds. We help workplaces across Eastern and Central Massachusetts choose the right cabinets and signs, and we position and secure extinguishers with appropriate signage so each one is properly located and visible.

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  • Amerex Authorized Distributor
  • Firefighter owned and operated
  • Licensed MA-CR #4623
Recessed fire extinguisher in company hallway cabinet

The placement question

Are your fire extinguishers properly located with appropriate signage?

It's the question on every page of our site, and placement is one of the things our annual inspection checks on each unit. OSHA 1910.157 says workplace extinguishers must be mounted, located and identified so employees can reach them readily without risk of injury. NFPA 10 fills in the details:

  • Mounting height. For extinguishers weighing 40 lb or less, the top of the unit is no more than 5 feet above the floor. Heavier units hang lower, with the top no more than 3.5 feet up.
  • Floor clearance. The bottom of the extinguisher sits at least 4 inches above the floor.
  • In plain view. Extinguishers belong where people will see them, along normal paths of travel and near exits.
  • Marked when hidden. If racking, a column or a corner hides the unit and that can't be avoided, signs or other markings have to show where it is.
  • Nothing in the way. Stock, furniture and new partitions can't block the path to it.
Technician measuring the mounting height of a wall-mounted fire extinguisher with a tape measure

Cabinet types

Which extinguisher cabinet fits the wall?

Cabinets protect extinguishers from damage and tampering. The right style depends on the wall and the space in front of it.

Surface-mount

Bolts onto the face of the wall, matched to the size of the extinguisher it holds. Simple to add in warehouses, garages and shops where nothing projects into a busy walkway.

Semi-recessed

Sits partly inside the wall, so it sticks out less. A common choice for corridors, where the ADA standards limit how far wall-mounted objects can project.

Fully recessed

A recessed fire extinguisher cabinet sits flush with the wall, for lobbies, offices and corridors where nothing should stick out at all.

Fire-rated

When a cabinet is recessed into a fire-rated wall, the building code generally calls for a fire-rated extinguisher cabinet. Your architect or local fire official confirms which walls are rated.

Signs that help

Signage people can actually see

A flat sign above an extinguisher works when the wall is in view. Down a long warehouse aisle or around racking, a projecting or three-sided sign that sticks out from the wall can be seen from much farther away, so anyone looking for an extinguisher spots one without hunting.

Under the ADA standards, objects mounted between 27 and 80 inches above the floor can’t project more than 4 inches into a walkway, which is why corridor cabinets are often semi-recessed or fully recessed. Moving offices? We’ll position and secure your extinguishers in the new space with appropriate signage. See extinguisher relocation.

FAQ

Cabinets and signage questions

Anything else, call us at 978-365-9100.

Under NFPA 10, the top of an extinguisher weighing 40 lb or less sits no more than 5 feet above the floor, and the top of a heavier unit no more than 3.5 feet. The bottom stays at least 4 inches off the floor.

Not if it's in plain view. NFPA 10 requires signs or other markings where an extinguisher's location is hidden from view and that can't be avoided, such as behind racking or around a corner.

Only in limited cases. NFPA 10 says extinguisher cabinets shouldn't be locked unless the extinguishers are at risk of malicious use, and then only if the cabinet has a means of emergency access, such as a break-glass panel.

Often, yes. The ADA standards limit wall-mounted objects between 27 and 80 inches above the floor to 4 inches of projection into a walkway, so a surface-mount cabinet usually won't work in a corridor.

Yes. FireSafe is an Amerex Authorized Distributor and carries a full line of fire and safety products, including Larsen's cabinets and signage. Download the Larsen's cabinet spec sheets when you're choosing cabinets for new construction, and see our extinguisher sales page for the units themselves.

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Is your workplace Fire Safe?

Tell us about the space and where your extinguishers are now. Price depends on how many cabinets and signs the space needs, which styles your walls call for, and whether the extinguishers are new. We'll get back to you with a quote.

978-365-9100
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880 Main St., Unit D
Woburn, MA 01801
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Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
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