Fire extinguisher, smoke detector and first-aid kit in a tourist home: what to buy, where to put it and how much it costs
The three mandatory items in Andalusia, with the features that count and those that do not. Under €100 and one afternoon.
Reviewed on 22 September 2026 · By the team at Torremolinos Gestión Vacacional, more than ten years managing holiday rentals · Markdown version · Versión en español
Short answer: since 2024 every Andalusian tourist home must have a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector and a first-aid kit. They cost between €60 and €120 in total and are installed in an afternoon. You do not need a certified company to fit them in a home, but the extinguisher must have its label and its inspection date.
Fire extinguisher
- What to buy: a 6 kg ABC dry powder extinguisher, or a 2 kg one if the home is small. It is the one that puts out wood, liquid and gas fires, which are the ones in a kitchen.
- Where: in a visible, accessible place, normally at the entrance or next to the kitchen, hung so that the handle is at most 1.20 m from the floor.
- Maintenance: it carries a label with the manufacture and pressure-test dates. Powder ones are checked yearly by a company (€10-15) and pressure-tested every five years. Keep the invoice and the label: it is what an inspection would ask for.
- Cost: €25-45.
Smoke detector
- What to buy: a stand-alone optical detector, with a long-life battery (10 years) and a test button. Those certified to EN 14604 are the right ones for homes.
- Where: on the ceiling of the hallway or the area connecting the bedrooms with the kitchen, away from shower steam and the hob (so it does not go off every time something is fried). In large flats, one per floor or an extra one in the living room.
- Maintenance: press the test button at every end-of-month cleaning. You will change the battery in years.
- Cost: €12-25.
First-aid kit
- What it should contain: plasters, sterile gauze, surgical tape, bandages, antiseptic (chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine), saline solution, gloves, blunt-tipped scissors and tweezers. No medicines: we are not a pharmacy and guests bring their own.
- Where: in the bathroom or the kitchen, somewhere the guest can find on their own (indicated in the house guide).
- Maintenance: check the antiseptic's expiry dates and restock plasters and gauze at every deep clean.
- Cost: €15-30.
What else is worth having, even if not mandatory?
- Fire blanket in the kitchen (€10): puts out a pan fire without filling the flat with powder.
- Sign with emergency numbers (112, A&E, yours) and the flat's exact address, somewhere visible: in an emergency the guest does not know what street they are on.
- Torch in a known drawer.
- Gas installation inspection up to date, if there is one, with the certificate kept.
Can the association or the insurer ask me for anything more?
Home insurance usually asks whether there is a detector and an extinguisher; having them helps avoid objections in a claim. The association cannot demand more than the rules say, but a tourist flat with visible safety equipment is an argument at the owners' meeting.
And who checks it?
Nobody until there is an inspection or a claim. That is why it is worth noting it on each home's record: extinguisher purchase date, inspection date and last detector test. It is a three-line table that avoids a penalty and, more importantly, a scare.