201336 Danger of fake fire extinguishers

Edited from U.S.C.G Alert 01-13

Counterfeits of US Coast Guard approved portable fire extinguishers manufactured by Amerex Corporation and Buckeye Fire Equipment have been discovered. Both companies are major producers of genuine approved fire extinguishing equipment and serve a worldwide market.

These counterfeit extinguishers present a significant safety hazard as their capability to extinguish a fire is unproven;
1 they may be charged with a powdery substance that is not a fire extinguishing agent
2 the pressure cylinder is not DOT approved, and
3 the pressure gauge may not function or give false readings.

The dry-chemical counterfeit extinguishers are size B-II and may be identified by several distinguishing features:
Counterfeit units may have duplicate serial numbers. Genuine approved extinguishers will have a unique serial number for each extinguisher. For counterfeit Amerex extinguishers, the serial No V-654690 has been reported. There may be other serial numbers used on the counterfeits. For counterfeit Buckeye extinguishers, the serial No K-094927 with a red handle and serial No YM- U76222 with a black handle have been reported.

The labels on counterfeit extinguishers may be printed simplistically. Labels on genuine approved extinguishers will include a security imprint/texture behind the UL LISTED logo. Genuine Amerex Corporation extinguishers will have a pattern of scored ‘circles’, (see below) and genuine Buckeye Fire Equipment extinguishers will have the letter S scored into the label. The bottoms of the counterfeits have a rounded curved-in lip as shown on the right side of the image below. The bottom of a genuine Amerex extinguisher is shown on the left side of the image. Genuine Buckeye extinguishers will have a date stamped on the bottom.

The counterfeit extinguishers have been reported to have black or red plastic handles (see A below). Genuine approved dry-chemical B-II extinguishers typically have handles that are constructed of silver-coloured aluminum (although there are some with plastic handles). Pressure gauges on the counterfeit units may be the wrong colour. The gauges on genuine approved Buckeye dry-chemical extinguishers will have a red background. Counterfeit extinguishers may have welded seams on the sides of the cylinders (see B, right).

Editor’s Note: If you think you are getting a price that seems too good to be true, it is probably because it is too good to be true. There is no substitute for properly approved, quality equipment.