Portable fire extinguishers are acquired by order of the authorities, by statutory requirement or voluntarily. Portable fire extinguishers are not difficult to use but the threshold to using one may be high if its use has not been practiced in advance. Portable fire extinguishers are sold by hardware stores, hardware departments in supermarkets, auto supply stores and portable extinguisher outlets. Rescue departments and rescue associations, organisations and many training companies provide safety training that allows participants to practice the use of portable fire extinguishers and other first-aid extinguishing equipment under the guidance of professionals.
Portable fire extinguishers shall be inspected at intervals of no less than one year if the extinguisher is stored in a manner that exposes it to factors impacting on working condition such as moisture, vibration or changes in temperature. In other cases, portable fire extinguishers shall be inspected at intervals of no less than two years.
Under the Rescue Act, the occupant of a residence shall make sure that the extinguishing equipment prescribed by the authorities is in working order and has been properly maintained and inspected.
Portable fire extinguisher outlets provide maintenance and inspection of portable fire extinguishers. Inspection of portable fire extinguisher refers to measures to determine the extinguisher is in working order while maintenance refers to measures to render the extinguisher into working order. Tukes maintains a list of portable fire extinguisher outlets.
Tukes monitors the conformity of portable fire extinguishers available on the market in Finland. Tukes acquires extinguishers from the market, has them tested and takes action if the extinguishers do not meet requirements. Non-conforming products may be removed from the market if necessary.