Fire extinguisher symbol

A white extinguisher on red, marking firefighting equipment.

Also known as: Fire extinguisher sign, Fire point sign, Extinguisher location sign

Safety & hazardEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

An extinguisher on a red square marks where firefighting equipment is kept. Red here means fire equipment, not a hazard — a distinction people reverse constantly, because red means warning almost everywhere else.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Marks the location of a fire extinguisher or a fire point, so that equipment can be found quickly.
Contexts: Public information
Common modern usageVerified fact
Does not warn of a hazard. In the safety-sign grammar red squares locate firefighting equipment while yellow triangles carry the hazard warnings, so a red panel means help is here, not that something is wrong here.
The most frequently reversed pair in the whole system, because red signals danger in almost every other context.
Contexts: Public information
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is often paired with a coloured band or label identifying the extinguishing agent, since the wrong agent on the wrong fire can make it worse.
Contexts: Public information
Common modern usageVerified fact
Belongs to the fire-equipment class of safety signs, drawn as a white pictogram on a red square. Red marks where firefighting equipment is kept. It does not mean a hazard is present — that is the yellow triangle — and this is the distinction most often reversed.
Contexts: Public information

Visual description

A white cylindrical extinguisher shown in profile with a hose curving from its top, on a solid red square, usually with a small flame drawn beside it.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright
Colours: red, white

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Safety sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
Fire extinguisher
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Part of

Safety signs and their shape-and-colour grammar

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Meanings

Common modern usageVerified fact

Marks the location of a fire extinguisher or a fire point, so that equipment can be found quickly.

Contexts: Public information

Common modern usageVerified fact

Does not warn of a hazard. In the safety-sign grammar red squares locate firefighting equipment while yellow triangles carry the hazard warnings, so a red panel means help is here, not that something is wrong here.

The most frequently reversed pair in the whole system, because red signals danger in almost every other context.

Contexts: Public information

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is often paired with a coloured band or label identifying the extinguishing agent, since the wrong agent on the wrong fire can make it worse.

Contexts: Public information

Common modern usageVerified fact

Belongs to the fire-equipment class of safety signs, drawn as a white pictogram on a red square. Red marks where firefighting equipment is kept. It does not mean a hazard is present — that is the yellow triangle — and this is the distinction most often reversed.

Contexts: Public information

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Safety sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
Fire extinguisher
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31