New Restaurant Fire Protection Guide

Fire is an essential element, especially in the kitchen. Chefs of restaurants have to face flames of fire every day, and kitchen electrical appliances can also catch fire and get you into big trouble.

So if you are setting up a restaurant, all the best, but keep security and safety on priority. This article will guide you with the steps you should take to make your restaurant safe from fire.

Why Is A New Restaurant Fire Protection Guide Required?

Protection from every uncertainty is more than a requirement; it is our necessity. So it is our responsibility to save ourselves and society from those uncertainties.

Starting a restaurant, be it a large or small business, financial investment is compulsory in both cases. No business person would ever want to face losses after investing money and efforts to start a restaurant business.

Since fires are the most common cause of enormous losses, especially in restaurants, a fire protection guide is necessary. It consists of all those required methods to be applied while building a restaurant.

Ways Of Fire Protection

Fire protection can be provided in several ways: through various equipment or training for employees and security guards. Both methods are essential to be followed. You must know about the fire safety devices used in restaurants. Below, we have discussed some of them.

1. Fire extinguishers

A fire extinguisher is a set of chemical components built to extinguish a fire. This fire safety equipment is the first choice of every individual. Anything can catch fire regardless of metal, organic material, or any chemical substance.

Different types of fire extinguishers are manufactured. These are used to demolish fires caused by various mediums.

Class K fires are those which are caused due to flammable liquids used in cooking, such as oil, grease, animal fats, etc. Hence, class K fire extinguishers are best to use in restaurants.

2. Fire Alarm

This device helps to alert the staff and people inside a building wherever a fire has been detected. A fire alarm will start making a noise like a siren as soon as it sees a fire in the building.

They are not used in extinguishing the fire, but it makes the employees and staff alert so that quick action can be taken.

3. Sprinkler system

These devices are installed at the top of the ceiling, with high chance of fire. Areas prone to fire, such as chemistry labs or big restaurants, must keep sprinkler systems installed.

4. Kitchen fire suppression system

Nowadays, kitchens are designed in a very customized and specialized manner. We can see many kitchen devices and equipment which are operated.

Many brands and companies manufacture the best quality kitchen fire suppression systems. This system can detect fire by itself and is controllable through remotes.

Below are some of its features and benefits:

• It knocks downs rapid flames.
• It comes with five years warranty.
•  It helps in cooling grease and surroundings.
•  It acts as a blanket over the flammable liquid, preventing it from reignition.

These were some of the equipment and devices termed as best to prevent and extinguish the fire. Earlier, we mentioned that not only restaurants have safety equipment, but they should also provide training to their staff.

By training, we mean that at the time of the fire, the employees need to act smartly and calmly; a rush will result in chaos which may cause unrecoverable loss.

During the training, the staff or the security guard should be taught how to handle fire extinguishers and safety devices.

So that they do not need to be dependent on any person, the minimum time taken to extinguish the fire will minimize the loss suffered by the restaurant.

Ul 300-Compliant Suppression Systems Must Include

According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), every restaurant should have UL 300- compliant. These are used to protect the cooking areas of kitchens and restaurants.

Systems that fulfill the required standards for UL-300 are signified as more effective and efficient in controlling kitchen fires.

Below are some of the points that UL 300 must include:

• The wet chemical quenching agent.
• The Nozzle is located in the hood and duct.
• The Nozzle is located over each grease-generating cooking appliance.
• Manual pull station.
• The automatic fire detection system.
• Automatic fire shut-offs for gas and electricity.
• Hood and duct Maintainance and cleaning semi-annually by an authorized licensed service company.
• Wet chemical system service.

Restaurant Fire Inspection Checklist

Every restaurant should have its checklist maintained; this helps them in their inspection process and builds a sense of security in the minds of customers and employees. Following are the checklist you can read: 

• Do we have sufficient stock of fire extinguisher cylinders?
• Is every cylinder full or not? If not, then is the refilling done?
• Is the inspection and maintenance of fire extinguishers done? If yes, then when?
• Does a fire alarm system protect the building?
• Do all the fire alarms work? And are they in a good state?
• Does every room have a smoke and fire alarm system installed?
• Does the building have a sprinkler system? If yes, is it installed and maintained in conformance with NFPA?
• Are all electric appliances, such as fryers, protected by an automatic fire extinguisher system?

There are many more questions that you can include in your checklist:

Restaurant Fire Safety Regulations

There are specific rules and regulations which every restaurant should follow as far as the safety and security of their staff and property are concerned:

1. Installed kitchen fire suppression system– As mentioned earlier, a kitchen fire suppression system is an advanced technology that effectively handles fire.

2. Inspection and maintenance– We are discussing fire extinguishers inspection and maintenance. Fire extinguisher inspection is a process done by companies manufacturing the fire extinguishers to check the condition and test the fire extinguishers. It will help you to know that if there is any damage to your safety device if not, then well and good, but if yes, then you can replace it immediately.

To give you a brief idea-  the physical damages, placement of the extinguisher, the position of the gauge, and availability of gas in proper quantity are the primary inspection points on a fire extinguisher.

A monthly inspection is essential to maintain the extinguisher in a good state. In your work area, it becomes necessary that an inspection should take place after every month.

Other regulations you can follow are:

• Provide adequate means of escape.
• Keep the exit path and emergency door vacant for an easy exit.
• Installation of smoke detectors.
• Installation of a sprinkler system.
• Monthly inspection of all fire safety equipment by any professional and licensed contractor.
• Training provided to every employee about handling the devices smartly.
• It has a portable fire extinguisher for backups. 

FAQs

Final Talk

Building a restaurant is not an easy task; along with you, there are hundreds of people who will be working. It is a question of their safety too. It is essential to prioritize your security. Make sure

In this article, we have discussed all the questions related to the fire protection of restaurants. Not only the owners of the new restaurants but all the owners can read this article to understand fire protection better. I hope this article helps you in your startup; till then, keep reading!