What is the maximum age allowed for a landlord-owned, non-rechargeable extinguisher to be considered compliant?

• A. Less than 12 years
• B. Less than 5 years
• C. Less than 20 years
• D. Exactly 12 years

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that extinguishers have a finite service life. For landlord-owned, non-rechargeable units, the standard requires replacement after a maximum of 12 years from the date of manufacture. To be compliant, the extinguisher must be younger than 12 years. At 12 years or older, it would no longer meet the requirement. So, the correct understanding is that the maximum allowed age is less than 12 years. The other options either overstate or misstate the limit (for example, an exact 12-year age is not compliant, and 5 or 20 years are not the specified limit).