While on a site visit in downtown Milwaukee, a West Bend loss prevention associate recognized a fire extinguisher in a restaurant kitchen indicating it had been discharged. This was puzzling because the fire extinguisher had been serviced only a few weeks before. After questioning the manager, a startling discovery was made. In a well-intentioned attempt to test the effectiveness of the newly-inspected fire extinguisher, the manager had taken the canister outside and discharged it. It quickly became clear this process was followed for every fire extinguisher within the facility! If a real fire had broken out in the building, there would have been no viable options for containing the flames because all of the extinguishers had been depressurized.
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