What the tag on your extinguisher tells you
You held a phone to a fire extinguisher, or pointed the camera at its label, and a page opened. This is what that page means, what to do about it, and how the tag got there. If you look after a building, it is the quickest way to know whether every extinguisher in it is in date.
https://tag.icertifi.co.uk/f/…
That is the address on every tag. It opens on any phone with no app, no account and no login. See an example page.
What you will see
One page, one extinguisher. At the top is the unit, where it is, and a coloured badge that answers the only question most people have: is it in date?
Below the badge: when it was last serviced and by whom, when each service is next due, the last monthly check, the make, model and serial number, and the business that services it, with a phone number you can tap.
The date at the foot of the page is when the engineer’s app last updated it.
- In dateServiced and not due yet. The next service date is beside it.
- Due in 12 daysA service falls due within 30 days. Time to book the engineer.
- Overdue by 40 daysA service date has passed. The unit is still in place but out of its maintenance interval.
- CondemnedThe engineer has taken it out of service. The page adds “Do not use”. Removed and Reported missing look the same.
- RegisteredOn the register, not yet serviced through Fire Safe. Usually a unit tagged today.
- Tag no longer in useThe tag was retired. The unit was replaced or re-tagged; ask the engineer for the current one.
What to do about it
The page names the business that services the unit. That is who to call. If you are the Responsible Person for the premises, the monthly look-over is still yours whatever the badge says: is it in place, unobstructed, the pin and seal intact, the gauge in the green, no damage.
Monthly checks are recorded in the fire safety log book, not on the tag.
- In dateNothing to do. Carry on with the monthly check.
- Due soonBook the service before the date on the badge.
- OverdueCall the engineer named under Serviced by. Ask for the service and the certificate.
- Condemned, removed or missingDo not rely on it. Make sure the area still has cover and get a replacement arranged.
- No record for this tag yetThe tag is on, but the engineer’s phone has not published it. Ask them, or scan again later.
- Tag no longer in useThe unit was replaced or re-tagged. The current unit has its own tag.
Why the dates matter
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the Responsible Person keep fire-fighting equipment in efficient working order and good repair. How often that means is set out in BS 5306-3, the British Standard for maintaining portable extinguishers, and the tag page works its dates out from it.
A visual check by the user: in place, visible, undamaged, pin and seal intact, gauge in the green.
A basic service by a competent person. This is the date most badges are counting down to.
An extended service at five years for water, foam and powder, ten for primary-sealed powder. CO2 units get an overhaul at ten.
Trade practice retires most units at 20 years; that is not a clause of the standard. What each service certificate should contain is on the certificate page.
Who put it there, and can you trust it
The engineer who services the unit put the tag on and their app publishes the page. Only their account can change it, and it changes only when they save a visit, so what you read is what they recorded.
The Serviced by block gives the business, the technician’s name and, where they are registered, a BAFE SP101 number with a link to check the firm on the BAFE register. A page with no registration is not wrong; not every competent engineer is BAFE registered.
It is a status page, not a certificate. The certificate and the log book are documents the engineer hands to the Responsible Person, and they still are.
- The unit: type, size, make, model and serial
- Its location, as the engineer typed it
- Service dates, next due dates and status
- The servicing business and how to reach it
- The technician and any BAFE number
- The name or address of the premises
- The client or the Responsible Person
- Notes, defects, actions or photos
- Any other extinguisher or site
Every unit you service, answering for itself
Fire Safe writes the NFC sticker or prints the QR labels from the site’s Tag units screen, publishes the page the moment you save the unit, and keeps it current after every visit. Your business name and phone number sit on every extinguisher you look after.
- NFC stickers, QR labels or pre-coded stickers: peel, stick, scan, pick the unit
- Publishes by itself, with or without signal at the time
- Re-tag a replaced unit and the old page says so
- Nothing about the client or the premises is ever published
Open the example page to see exactly what your customer sees.
Questions
Do I need an app to read the tag?
No. Hold any recent phone to the NFC sticker, or point the camera at the QR label, and the page opens in the browser. Nothing to install and nothing to sign in to.
It says no record for this tag yet. Is something wrong?
The tag has been put on but the engineer’s phone has not published the unit yet, or the code was misread. It publishes by itself the next time that phone is online. If it stays that way, ask the engineer.
Is my building’s address on the page?
No. The page never carries the name or address of the premises, the client or the Responsible Person. It shows the unit, its location text, its service dates and the engineer’s business details.
Can anyone change what it says?
Only the engineer’s own Fire Safe account can, and only by saving a visit or editing the unit in the app. The date at the foot of the page is when it was last updated.
Does the tag replace the certificate or the log book?
No. It is a status page. The service certificate and the fire safety log book are still the records you keep, and the engineer still issues them.
Why does it say Tag no longer in use?
The engineer retired that tag: the unit was replaced, or it was given a new code. The current unit has its own tag with its own page.
Related reading
The fire safety log book
The monthly checks, what to record, and a free check sheet.
Fire extinguisher certificates explained
The four documents a service produces and what each must contain.
Fire Safe for iPhone and iPad
The register, the tags, the certificates and the log book, off the phone on the day.