The annual inspection of portable fire-extinguishers is at present carried out in accordance with Swedish Standard SMS 1192-4 and involves expensive practical fire-extinguishing tests, carried out by an operator. This report presents a proposal for chemical identification of fire-extinguisher powder, which, together with knowledge of the characteristic discharge properties of the equipment, could replace the current method of inspection. The chemical identification is based on energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, an analytical technique which can identify the elements present, from sodium onwards (No. 11 in the Periodic Table); this is done quickly, and at relatively low cost, and does not require any special preparation of the sample. In addition, powders have been examined using thermal analysis, a method which indicates the behaviour of the material when heated. In this investigation, X-ray spectrometry was only used qualitatively. Data for quantitative determination is not available at present. It is suggested that this method, after completion with quantitative analytical data, could be used as a new testing and inspection procedure.