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Fire extinguisher buying guide

Updated: 20 October 2026

A fire extinguisher buying guide has one job: match the label to the fuel in that room, then check the mark and the size before the price. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team. We compared four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026, at about £11.99, about £14.28, about £19.99 and about £23.42, and we did not run a lab fire test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The [fire extinguisher comparison](/hub/fire-protection/fire-extinguisher) ranks those four listings. Here you get the checks that decide whether any of them belongs in the basket.

A fire extinguisher buying guide has one job: match the label to the fuel in that room, then check the mark and the size before the price. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team.

Our top picks

Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets

Best overall

Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets
7.5/10about £19.99
View offer
Ogniochron Ogniochron 1 kg ABC powder

Rank 2

Ogniochron Ogniochron 1 kg ABC powder
7.8/10about £23.42
View offer
Metro Metro HG 098-00, 600 g

Alternative

Metro Metro HG 098-00, 600 g
4.8/10about £14.28
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the label has to show
  2. 2.Marks that mean a test, and marks that do not
  3. 3.Size and agent for the room
  4. 4.Home basket versus a workplace install

What the label has to show

Start with the fuel, not the brand. Class A is ordinary solids such as wood, paper and furnishings. Class B is flammable liquids. Class C is flammable gases. Class F is cooking oil and fat. Electricity is a spark symbol on a proper label, not a letter class. On the Ogniochron 1 kg listing the bullets print 8A 34B and C-class. The unbranded 2 kg ABC listing states classes A, B and C and stops there. The Metro HG 098-00 states B and C only. The Super Help SH2400, 400 ml at about £11.99, prints no class letters at all. If the title and the bottle disagree, trust the bottle.

Marks that mean a test, and marks that do not

A BS EN 3 line means the cylinder was built to the portable-extinguisher standard. A Kitemark means someone other than the seller has certified that claim. A CE mark on its own is not a quality guarantee. The 2 kg listing’s bullets cite BS EN3-7:2004+A1:2007 and Kitemark EN3, and the title also says CE certified. There is still no 13A or 34B figure and no brand name. The Ogniochron bullets say CE approved EN 3, plus RINA and MED. The Metro bullets say BSI certified to BS616 2002 and Kitemarked. Leave that string as it is. It is not BS EN 3. The Super Help page claims no standard at all.
Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets

Testsieger

Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets
7.5/10about £19.99
View offer

Size and agent for the room

A 400 ml can and a 600 g car unit are not a 2 kg cylinder with the volume turned down. The Ogniochron is 1 kg of powder in a unit that weighs 1.8 kg, with a pressure gauge and a discharge range printed as 4 m. The unbranded listing is 2 kg, with a wall bracket and a vehicle bracket. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service say you do not put an extinguisher on a chip pan. The kitchen detail sits on the fire extinguisher for the home page. Powder and CO2 do not behave alike once the flame is down. That choice is the powder vs CO2 fire extinguisher page. None of these four listings is a residue-free electrical extinguisher.

Home basket versus a workplace install

Article 6 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 excludes domestic premises, apart from the prohibition-notice case in article 31(10). You can still buy one. If you do, a Kitemark line is how you tell a tested cylinder from a can with a red label. A shop, an office, or the common parts of a block of flats is a different duty. BAFE reads BS 5306-3 as a basic service every 12 months where that duty applies. On these pages the Ogniochron is the only listing with 8A 34B, and the 2 kg page is the one with Kitemark EN3 at about £19.99 and no number.

Common questions

Is a CE mark enough?
No. The UK Fire Association says a CE mark on its own is not a quality guarantee, and it tells buyers to look for BS EN 3 with third-party accreditation such as a Kitemark. CE can sit beside a real standard, as it does in the 2 kg title, but it does not replace the standard line. The Metro wording BS616 2002 should stay as printed. It is not the same claim as BS EN 3.
Is 1 kg enough, or do I want 2 kg?
A 1 kg cylinder and a 2 kg cylinder are both in a different league from a 400 ml or 600 g car can. The Ogniochron prints 8A 34B, a gauge and a 4 m range, at about £23.42. The 2 kg listing prints classes A, B and C and Kitemark EN3 at about £19.99, without a numerical rating. Choose 2 kg for more powder and the Kitemark line. Choose the 1 kg when you refuse to skip 8A 34B.
Which agent for a garage, and which for a chip pan?
ABC powder is the garage agent when you may face solids and liquids and you can accept the cloud. A chip pan is not that job. Hampshire and Hereford and Worcester both warn against putting an extinguisher, including powder, on a chip pan. Use a fire blanket and turn the heat off if you can do that without leaning over the pan, then get out if it does not die immediately.
Does a private home have to buy a British Standard cylinder?
No. Article 6 takes an ordinary private home outside the Fire Safety Order, so there is no duty to keep any extinguisher, Kitemarked or otherwise. If you buy one anyway, a BS EN 3 or Kitemark line is how you check the product, not how you obey a home statute.
What does 8A 34B mean in plain terms?
It is a test-fire result, not a marketing phrase. The 8A is the size band of a wood test fire, and a bigger A number means a larger wood test. The 34B means a class B liquid test using 34 litres of fuel. Only the Ogniochron 1 kg listing prints 8A 34B and C-class. The 2 kg listing claims classes A, B and C without that number.

Related pages

Best fire extinguisher

Fire extinguisher

Fire extinguisher for the home: alarms before a cylinder

How to use a fire extinguisher: PASS and when to leave

Powder vs CO2 fire extinguisher: cloud or clean gas

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison, checked on 20 October 2026. Prices are amazon.co.uk shelf prices from 19 October 2026.

  1. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 6 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. Fire safety in the home, GOV.UK (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Fires in the home, GOV.UK Prepare (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. BAFE: how often to service fire extinguishers (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. BAFE: extinguisher type for live electrical equipment (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service: fire extinguishers (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service: fire safety equipment (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. Firesafe.org.uk: portable fire extinguisher general (retrieved 20 October 2026)