Your Guide to Restaurant Fire Prevention Basics
A kitchen fire is a nightmare for a restaurant owner or manager. About 8,000 restaurant fires are reported every year, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage alone. Restaurants affected by fires may be closed for a long time, sometimes permanently. And in the meantime, trusted staff members will find different jobs and patrons will go elsewhere for their meals. Prevention is always best, so follow these rules to protect your professional kitchen.
Install an automatic fire protection system.
This is one area where you don’t want to skimp on costs. A custom-designed and professionally installed fire protection system will give you peace of mind, and may even reduce your insurance premiums. A built-in hood fire suppression system is ideal, as the greatest threat is a fire caused by cooking equipment. Choose a system that will automatically dispense fire suppressing chemicals, but also has a manual switch, just in case. Have your system professionally inspected on a routine basis.
Keep fire extinguishers on hand.
Every employee should know where the fire extinguishers are and how to use them. Keep portable class K fire extinguishers in the kitchen. These are the only type that is capable of suppressing grease fires. Keep class ABC fire extinguishers in all other areas of the restaurant. These are suitable for fighting paper, plastic, and electrical fires.
Get your exhaust system inspected.
Exhaust systems must be inspected regularly for grease buildup, and cleaned out as appropriate. If your restaurant has a moderate volume of customers, you can have the exhaust system inspected on a semi-annual basis. High-volume restaurants must have their exhaust systems inspected every quarter. If you have any cooking equipment that uses solid fuel, like a wood-burning pizza oven, then you must get it inspected every month.
Protect your restaurant from every manager’s worst nightmare: kitchen fires. You can call Kazal Fire Protection, Inc. at (520) 323-1518. We’ll design and install a fire protection system that’s right for your restaurant in Tucson.