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Toolbox talk · 10 min · Fire & Hot Work

Fire Extinguisher Use — P.A.S.S.

Hazards: Burns and smoke inhalation from fighting a fire past the incipient stage · Using the wrong extinguishing agent — water on a flammable liquid or an energized circuit · Being cut off from the exit while facing the fire

Why it matters

An extinguisher works for about ten to twenty seconds, and only on a fire that is still small. In 2023 the U.S. Fire Administration estimated 13,800 nonresidential building fires from unintentional, careless causes alone — up 49% over ten years. On April 30, 2019, a roofer refilling an air compressor let gasoline overflow onto the hot manifold; the fire spread to the compressor, the gas can and the grass, and the foreman put it out with two portable extinguishers (OSHA Summary Nr 115954.015). One would not have been enough.

Key points

  • Alarm first, then decide. Sound the alarm and call the fire department before you pick anything up. If it goes wrong you have already bought the crew their minutes.
  • Four questions decide it. Is the fire too big? Is the air safe to breathe? Is it too hot or smoky? Is there a clear way out behind you? One “no” and you leave.
  • Match the class. A for wood and paper, B for flammable liquids, C for energized equipment, D for combustible metals, K for cooking oils. Water spreads a liquid fire and conducts on a live circuit.
  • P.A.S.S. Pull the pin — it breaks the tamper seal. Aim low at the base of the flame, not the smoke. Squeeze the handle. Sweep side to side until it looks out.
  • Keep the exit behind you. Pick the way out before you approach, stay inside the effective range, and back away from a fire you put out in case it flames up again.
  • Empty and still burning? Go. The same if the fire grows past the incipient stage while you are on it. Nobody is paid to stay.
  • Check it before you need it. Pin in, seal unbroken, gauge in the green, hose clear, nothing parked in front of it. OSHA requires that walk every month.

Do / Don't

Do

  • Know where the nearest two units are, and what they are rated for.
  • Hold a CO2 unit by the handle — the horn gets cold enough to hurt you.
  • Report every unit you use, even for two seconds; it goes for recharge.
  • Tell the fire department what burned and what you put on it.

Don't

  • Aim at the flames or the smoke instead of the base of the fire.
  • Fight a fire in a room filling with smoke, or one you have to crawl to reach.
  • Hang a used extinguisher back on the bracket.
  • Let anything get stacked or parked in front of a unit.

Quick site check

  • Walk to the nearest extinguisher: is the pin in, the seal intact and the gauge in the operable range?
  • Is anything blocking it, and can you read the class marking from where you stand?
  • What burns in this area, and is the unit hanging here rated for it?
  • Who on this crew has had the annual extinguisher education?
Discussion — ask the crew
  1. Point at the nearest extinguisher without turning around. What class is it rated for, and when did anyone last look at the gauge?
  2. If a fire started at the fuel station right now, who sounds the alarm and who calls — and does anyone here know the site address by heart?
  3. What is the biggest fire you would take on with a 10 lb extinguisher, and what does the crew think of your answer?
  4. Which of us has actually discharged an extinguisher, and how long did it last?
  5. Where would you back out to, and what is behind you right now?
Refs: OSHA — Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool: Fire Extinguisher Use, the P.A.S.S. technique and the steps for an incipient stage fire · OSHA — Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool: Fight or Flee? The risk assessment - fire size, air, heat and smoke, evacuation path · OSHA — Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool: Extinguisher Basics, fire classes A, B, C, D and K and the agents that match them · 29 CFR 1910.157 — Portable fire extinguishers: fully charged and operable at (c)(4), monthly inspection at (e)(2), annual education and training at (g) · U.S. Fire Administration — Nonresidential building fire causes, 2023 national estimates (13,800 fires from other unintentional or careless causes) · OSHA Accident Search, Summary Nr 115954.015 (April 30, 2019) - gasoline overflowing onto a hot compressor manifold ignites on a re-roofing job; the foreman puts the fire out with two portable extinguishersSign-in sheet included in the printed version

Frequently asked questions

Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. OSHA's evacuation eTool spells it out: pull the pin, which also breaks the tamper seal; aim low, pointing the nozzle, horn or hose at the base of the fire; squeeze the handle to release the agent; and sweep from side to side at the base of the fire until it appears to be out.

OSHA's Fight or Flee? risk assessment gives four questions. Evacuate if the fire has spread beyond the material it started in, covers more than about 60 square feet, is partly hidden behind a wall or ceiling, or cannot be reached from a standing position; if you would need respiratory protection; if the radiated heat keeps you further back than 10 to 15 feet or you have to crawl; or if fire, heat or smoke could block your way out.

Where the employer provides extinguishers for employee use, 1910.157(g)(1) requires an educational program on the general principles of extinguisher use and the hazards of incipient stage firefighting, on hire and at least annually. Employees designated to use firefighting equipment under the emergency action plan get training in the use of that equipment on initial assignment and at least annually - 1910.157(g)(3) and (g)(4).

No. OSHA's eTool is blunt about both: never use water on a flammable liquid fire, because it is ineffective and can spread the fire, and never use water on an electrical fire, because water conducts and can lead to electrocution. Match the class marked on the label to what is burning.

OSHA's eTool warns that the plastic discharge horn on a carbon dioxide extinguisher gets very cold in use and may damage skin. Hold the handle, not the horn. The same page also warns against using CO2 in a confined space while people are present without respiratory protection, because it works by displacing oxygen.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

Results are estimates for planning purposes and do not replace a competent person's evaluation or an engineer's design. Follow the OSHA standards that apply to your work and your employer's written program.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated