Empty fire extinguishers don’t do much good, which is why NIU’s are checked and refilled frequently for the safety of students and staff.

A fire extinguisher contractor and a part-time fire extinguisher inspector’s purpose is to check and see if the extinguisher operates correctly and safely, said Scott Mooberry, university safety officer from the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.

The process begins with replacing the 2007 tags with new 2008 tags. The tags tell the user what type it is, a date and the year it was used, Mooberry said.

Mooberry said the tamper seal is also inspected to see if it has been tampered with or if it is missing.

“That will be a red flag,” Mooberry said. “This is inspected to put it back into service.”

The gauge or the needle is supposed to be in the green area, indicating it is fully charged, Mooberry said. If it’s in the red, then something is wrong or it needs to be changed.

Final inspections include checking the pin and the overall condition of the extinguisher.

“If the pin is missing, then it is replaced,” Mooberry said.

There are extinguishers in every building on campus, as per state law.

Mooberry said the most common and most versatile is the ABC multipurpose dry chemical extinguisher. He said a class A extinguisher is used for typical paper and trash fires, class B is used for kitchen and chemical fires, class C is for electrical fires and class D is used for combustible metals in laboratories.

Sean Dub, a sophomore business major, feels safe knowing that there is an extinguisher in every building.

“If someone knows how to use it and knows where it is, then they can use it before the fire department gets here,” Dub said.