PASS stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep. It’s the four-step technique for using a portable fire extinguisher, and it’s the most common meaning people encounter in workplace safety training, school fire drills, and building safety signage.
The Four Steps of PASS
Each letter corresponds to a physical action you take with the extinguisher, in order:
- Pull the pin. Every fire extinguisher has a small metal pin that locks the handle in place. Pulling it out allows you to discharge the extinguisher.
- Aim at the base of the fire. This is the most important detail people get wrong. Your instinct is to aim at the flames themselves, but the extinguishing agent will pass right through them. You need to hit the fuel source at the bottom.
- Squeeze the top handle or lever. This depresses a button that releases the pressurized agent inside the canister.
- Sweep from side to side until the fire is completely out. A steady sweeping motion covers the full base of the fire rather than concentrating on one spot.
How Close You Need to Be
The right distance depends on the type of extinguisher. For the most common ABC-type units found in offices and homes, position yourself about 8 to 10 feet from the fire before you begin. CO2 extinguishers have a shorter effective range, so you’ll need to stand closer, around 5 to 7 feet. Starting too far away wastes the agent before it reaches the fire. Starting too close puts you at risk.
Most portable extinguishers discharge their full contents in roughly 10 to 20 seconds. That’s not much time, which is why aiming at the base and sweeping efficiently matters so much.
When PASS Applies (and When It Doesn’t)
The PASS technique is designed for small, contained fires, the kind you might catch early in a kitchen, office, or workshop. If a fire has already spread to walls or ceilings, if the room is filling with smoke, or if you don’t have a clear escape route behind you, the correct response is to leave and call emergency services. PASS works only when the fire is still small enough that a single extinguisher can handle it.
Other Meanings of PASS
While the fire safety acronym is by far the most searched meaning, PASS appears in a few other professional contexts. In pharmaceutical regulation, PASS stands for Post-Authorization Safety Study. These are studies conducted after a medication has already been approved for sale, designed to identify new safety concerns or confirm that a drug’s risk profile matches what was expected during clinical trials. European regulators can require drug manufacturers to carry out these studies as a condition of keeping a product on the market, or companies may conduct them voluntarily.
In mental health research, PAS (sometimes seen as PASS) refers to the Panic-Agoraphobic Spectrum scale, a screening tool clinicians use to assess panic disorder symptoms. However, this usage is largely confined to academic literature and clinical settings.
For most people searching this question, the answer they need is the fire extinguisher one: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep.