> Fire extinguishers should be inspected by a licensed professional every two years
I (in an affluent US east coast suburb) called my fire dept's non-emergency line to ask about this once a few years ago, and they told me this isn't something they do. So who does it?
I cannot actually answer your question: I'd probably call back and if they still don't, I'd ask what to do.
What I can give you is the next best thing: A way to self-check. Most fire extinguishers have both an expiration date and a pressure gauge. You want the pressure to be in the green and the date to be in the future. They usually last 10-12 years with proper care, but you still want to regularly check these things.
My source for this: An inspector, who checked the extinguishers for the pharmacy I worked at back then (was employed or contracted by the pharmacy chain). It has been over 10 years, but it doesn't look like this information is out of date.
Go to any commercial building and find their fire extinguishers. They'll have a tag on them indicating when they were inspected and who did it. Or look up 'fire extinguisher servicing [your metro area name]' or check with your local commercial occupancy inspectors department.
Yeah, fire departments don't do that here in Germany as well... legal requirement is that the licensed professional has a license according to the norm DIN 14 406 pt. 4. I had a quick google about the situation in the US, turns out there seem to be zero requirements on who does an inspection [1] - utterly mind-boggling.
In your case I'd search for a company that is certified by NICET [2].
In Europe there's a service from minimax, one of the biggest fire extinguisher manufacturers. So I guess check up on the manufacturer, fire protection consultants, or any place that sells them.
Once a year grab your oldest fire extinguisher and least proficient family member and hold a live fire(literally) training exercise.
It helps a bunch in an emergency when you are not preforming a technical operation for the very first time.
I will concede this may be tricky to pull off in a more urban environment, "Yes officer that's the idiot who lit his garbage can on fire in the middle of the street", in which case do without the fire, or make friends with the local fire department and they will let you do it in their parking lot.
An independent private company that sells and rent fire extinguishers in your location (or near)
There are small tests recommended each one or two years, but also a more serious test. The bottle will probably need to be tested for an integrity check each five years to see if it can hold the pressure without bursting. Owner can't do this test by the risk of blow and the lack of the machines.
I (in an affluent US east coast suburb) called my fire dept's non-emergency line to ask about this once a few years ago, and they told me this isn't something they do. So who does it?