Fire Prevention and Safety for Restaurant Facilities
Fire Prevention
A kitchen fire can lead to catastrophic consequences. Therefore, it is the foremost duty of every restaurant owner to outfit their facility with an efficient system, which prevents the occurrence of fire.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that more than 7,000 kitchen fires happen every year. These restaurant fires have led to physical injuries and civilian deaths as well as heavy property damage. Being the owner of a commercial restaurant, you should understand the consequences of kitchen fires and abide by the safety codes and cleaning codes in a proper manner. In fact, fire prevention should be your top most priority when operating a facility.
Fire safety: Building a Commercial Kitchen
If you are planning to build a commercial restaurant, cafeteria, or dining facility, fire prevention must be a crucial part of the overall design. The NFPA has given clear guidelines in regard to kitchen fire safety.
Whether it is the installation of the ventilation system or the range hood set up, you should always follow the rules and regulations, stated by the National Fire Protection Association. The ventilation system functions to contain all the heat, smoke, and grease produced in the kitchen on a regular basis. Likewise, the kitchen exhaust hood should be correctly installed to main indoor air quality in the kitchen. In addition to these, you should also pay careful attention to the cleaning of the exhaust hood, ductwork so as to avoid deposits of grease and grime.
Nationwide Fire Protection specializes in fire prevention services for a wide range of commercial kitchens and restaurant facilities. If your facility is located in Colorado or Utah, our specialists are only a phone call away. Our goal is to help you stay compliant with fire safety codes and prevent kitchen fire while providing a safe and healthy space both for your employees and guests.
Install a Fire Suppression System
A fire suppression system is designed to swiftly detect fire or excessive heat and put out the fire before it can spread and cause damage. It is a security feature that every commercial kitchen should be equipped with. Just make sure you choose a top quality fire system from a reputed brand.
A kitchen fire suppression system uses a wet chemical agent, which is released as soon as the system senses excessive heat or a flame. Most of the kitchen fires arise from cooking appliances. So, the fire system, as it discharges the chemical agent, cuts off the fuel supply to the affected cooking equipment. The system is highly efficient and is activated automatically as soon as it senses a risk of fire. While it is important to get the fire system installed by professionals, you should also give it proper maintenance in a timely manner to ensure utmost efficiency.
Have Fire Extinguishers at Hand
In order to remain compliant to safety laws, you are required to have fire extinguishers installed throughout the restaurant facility. In fact, the extinguishers should always be in a ready-to-use condition and easily accessible in the event of a fire. There are different types of fire extinguishers to suit specific needs and situations that may arise in multiple areas of a commercial facility.
An active fire protection device, a fire extinguisher proves to be quite useful when it comes to containing small fires. Since there are various classes of fires, the types of fire extinguishers also vary to control different emergency situations. If you are running a commercial kitchen or a large food service facility, you should definitely install these devices in various areas. Class K fire extinguishers are designed for use in commercial kitchens whereas Class ABC fire extinguishers are installed to control those fires that may occur in areas other than the kitchen. Make sure you have the right type of fire extinguishers in every area of your facility.
At Nationwide Fire Protection, we deal in all types of fire extinguishers from well-known and reputed brands. These fire prevention devices will ensure you have adequate fire safety in all areas of your restaurant.
Importance of Exhaust Hood Cleaning
One surefire way to mitigate the risk of fire is to keep your kitchen neat and clean, the exhaust hood system in particular.
While general cleaning can be performed on a daily basis by the kitchen staff itself, you should pay serious attention to the cleaning of the range hood, exhaust hood fan, and ductwork piping. Grease deposits in these components increase the risk of fire manifolds. Seek the help of professional grease cleaners to keep the entire exhaust hood system free from grease and grime.
After the hood cleanup is complete, certified grease cleaners will also provide you with a detailed report of how the procedure was carried out as well as information about any kind of repair or maintenance required.
Provide Fire Prevention Training to the Kitchen Staff
Proper maintenance of the cooking equipment and regular cleaning of the entire space is an essential step to eliminate the risk of fire. Typically, you should train employees to do the following:
Dealing with a grease fire
Using fire extinguishers
Storage of flammable liquids
Disposal of dirty rags and cardboard boxes
Handling of hot cooking equipment
Minimize grease in the kitchen
Carrying out daily cleaning tasks
Be mindful of electrical equipment
When it comes to dealing with a kitchen fire, time plays a crucial role. That is why you should properly train your employees in how to react to a fire and what to do to quickly control different types of fire.
Also, conduct regular fire drills to train the kitchen staff in critical areas including fire safety procedures and emergency exits.
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Talk to a Fire Prevention Specialist
Ultimately, it is the restaurant owner’s responsibility to maintain the kitchen and other areas in a proper manner and keep the entire space well-protected against different types of fire hazards. If you operate a commercial kitchen, reach out to one of our specialists at Nationwide Fire Protection to discuss your specific needs such as the installation of a fire suppression system, degreasing of the ventilation hood, installation of fire extinguishers, etc. Our goal is to help you mitigate the risk of kitchen fire and avoid damage to people and property.
You can contact us via a quick phone call or write us an email using the contact form given on our website.