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Fire extinguisher for the home

Updated: 20 October 2026

You are looking at a fire extinguisher for the home because a red cylinder feels like the responsible thing to put in the hall. In a private house in the UK it is optional, and several fire services would rather you spent the money on alarms and a way out. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team. We used the Fire Safety Order, GOV.UK and fire-service pages, plus four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. We did not visit your house or run a fire test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The four listings are ranked on the [fire extinguisher comparison](/hub/fire-protection/fire-extinguisher).

You are looking at a fire extinguisher for the home because a red cylinder feels like the responsible thing to put in the hall.

Our top picks

Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets

Best overall

Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets
7.5/10about £19.99
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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 law does not demand
  2. 2.What fire services tell householders
  3. 3.If you still buy one
  4. 4.What a small can will not do

What the law does not demand

Article 6 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 takes domestic premises outside the Order, apart from the prohibition-notice case in article 31(10). An ordinary house or a single flat is not required to keep a fire extinguisher. There is no offence in owning one, and there is no offence in not owning one. A staircase or lobby in a block can fall under the Order even though your flat does not. If you are the leaseholder of one flat, your own hallway is still a home.

What fire services tell householders

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service say they do not recommend buying an extinguisher. Essex say they do not encourage you to tackle a fire, and that a working smoke alarm is the equipment that matters. GOV.UK allows an extinguisher only if the fire is very small or blocking your exit, and only if you will not put yourself in danger. County Durham and Darlington say that if you buy one you should look for a British Standard Kitemark, and that dry powder is normally the kitchen choice. That kitchen sentence conflicts with Hampshire and with Hereford and Worcester, who say you do not use an extinguisher on a chip pan. Follow the chip-pan warning. The stop rule is on the how to use a fire extinguisher page.
Unbranded 2 kg ABC powder with brackets

Testsieger

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

If you still buy one

Buy it as a last resort for a tiny fire, not as a plan to fight a room. The 2 kg ABC listing prints Kitemark EN3 at about £19.99, with classes A, B and C and no numerical rating. The 1 kg Ogniochron prints 8A 34B at about £23.42, with a gauge, and its first 50 reviews are not from the UK. The label checks are on the fire extinguisher buying guide. Keep it on the escape route. A bracket in the hall matches the only situation GOV.UK still allows. The Ogniochron’s item weight is 1.8 kg for a 1 kg fill. If the risk you picture is the fryer, buy the blanket and stop. None of the four listings is a wet-chemical Class F unit.

What a small can will not do

A car extinguisher does not cover the house. The Super Help SH2400 is 400 ml at about £11.99, with no class letters. The Metro HG 098-00 is 600 g at about £14.28, classes B and C only. B and C is liquids and gases, not the sofa. If those two cans are all you buy, you have bought a small can for a car. If the fire is already beyond a waste-paper bin, you get out, you stay out, and you call 999.

Common questions

Does the law make me keep an extinguisher at home?
No. Article 6 of the Fire Safety Order excludes domestic premises, except the prohibition-notice point in article 31(10). A private house or a single flat does not have to keep an extinguisher to comply with that Order. Owning one is a choice. The common parts of a block of flats can be a different duty for the person responsible for those parts, and that duty is not answered by a can in your kitchen.
What should I buy first if I do nothing else?
Working smoke alarms, and a fire blanket by the hob. Shropshire, Essex and GOV.UK all put alarms and getting out ahead of a cylinder. GOV.UK names the blanket as the kitchen item. An extinguisher is optional, and only for a very small fire or a blocked step, if you can use it without trapping yourself. Call 999 before you think about the pin.
Is powder the right kitchen choice?
No, if the fire you mean is a chip pan or a deep fryer. County Durham’s FAQ does say dry powder is normally for the kitchen, and that line conflicts with Hampshire and with Hereford and Worcester, who say you do not use an extinguisher on a chip pan and that powder is a bad indoor agent. Follow the chip-pan warning. Use a fire blanket. Keep powder, if you buy it, away from the hob and away from a small bedroom.
Will a car extinguisher cover the house?
No. The 400 ml Super Help listing has no fire class, and the 600 g Metro listing stops at classes B and C. Both are reviewed as glovebox and boot cans. A sofa or curtains are class A. Carrying the Metro indoors does not add a Class A rating the bullets never claimed. Use a car can for the car, and read a rated cylinder’s label if the risk is the house.
Who services a home cylinder?
A private home is outside the annual servicing duty that BAFE describes for premises where the Order applies. You still should not keep a used or damaged cylinder on the wall. If the gauge has left the green, the pin is missing, or you have squeezed the handle, it needs a competent recharge before anyone relies on it. For a workplace or for common parts, that visit is a scheduled basic service, not a household optional extra.

Related pages

Fire blanket

Fire extinguisher

Best fire extinguisher: four listings, who to skip

Fire extinguisher buying guide: read class and mark

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)