Fire Extinguisher Quantity Calculator
Portable extinguishers must do two things at once: enough units to cover the floor area for the hazard, and close enough that no one travels far to reach one. Enter your floor area, floors, hazard class and travel distance to get an indicative count — the tool takes whichever rule needs more units. This is an indicative planning estimate; it runs in your browser and nothing is stored.
- Area coverage (~400 m² / unit)2 units
- Travel distance (~15 m grid)3 units
- Greater of the two, per floor3 units
This is an indicative planning estimate, not a compliant fire design or a statutory calculation. The real requirement depends on the occupancy classification, the building height and the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). The coverage areas, travel distance and hazard split above are widely-published typical values — verify every one against NBC (SP 7:2026) / NBC Part 4 and IS 2190 for your occupancy. A LICENSED FIRE CONSULTANT must design the system and the LOCAL FIRE OFFICER / AHJ must sign it off. Place extinguishers on the escape route near exits (not deep inside rooms), mounted and signed at a reachable height; the type must match the fire class — the wrong type can make a fire worse. Special risks (kitchen oil, server rooms, battery stores) need dedicated units beyond this count. A wrong number here can cost lives — verify everything.
Related Guides — Deep-dive reading
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Estimate how long a building takes to clear — pre-movement plus travel time plus flow time through the exits. A simplified hand-calc to sanity-check drills, not a CFD or ASET/RSET analysis; high-rise phased evacuation differs and a fire engineer runs the real study.
Evac Time