The industry that services fire extinguishers at shops, offices, restaurants, manufacturing plants and many other businesses across the city is plagued by unscrupulous firms that scam customers, The Post has learned.
A number of the 51 companies licensed to test, refill and inspect extinguishers misrepresent themselves and dupe customers as they battle for shares of the multimillion-dollar market, Fire Department officials and industry insiders say.
Worse, in some cases they could jeopardize workplace safety, said Jim Kelty, supervising fire marshal at FDNY's Manhattan Command.
"It's a serious problem, with potentially dangerous consequences," Kelty said. "The people who conduct these schemes are hustlers - and very good hustlers."
Kelty said fire marshals are investigating one firm but declined to name the company. Others, he said, "are definitely on our radar" because of accusations they've chiseled customers.
Insiders say that a common tactic involves rogue firms calling businesses and pretending to be from the customers' regular service provider.
The extinguisher company books an appointment with the customer, then shows up to check on the canisters. Afterward, it presents a bill - often for much more than what the regular provider charges.
In 2000, the FDNY began requiring extinguisher service firms to be certified, but scrutiny of the industry is lax. No firm has been prosecuted or sanctioned, despite complaints to the Fire Department from customers who feel they've been ripped off.
Kelty said his investigators have been hamstrung in their pursuit of rogue extinguisher companies, partly because investigating them properly requires "manpower that doesn't exist."
And, he said, "unless a business owner has one of these guys making false claims on tape, it's tough to prove they've done something illegal."
"It's a scam, but these guys walk a thin line of legality. It often comes down to the service company's word against that of the alleged victim."
Among those calling for action are the reputable extinguisher companies.
"We run into this problem about once a week," said Mildred Munich, office manager at Active Fire, a firm started by her family in 1942.
"I don't know if what these firms are doing is illegal, or if it's just considered competition," said Munich. "But in many of the cases I know about, it's definitely misrepresentation.
"If there's a fire, and a person delays calling the Fire Department while they reach for an extinguisher, and that extinguisher hasn't been serviced correctly, you've got serious, potentially deadly consequences.
"It takes less than a minute for a room to go up in flames."
