The chance of a fire breaking out in the kitchen of a restaurant is real and always present danger. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), between 2010 – 2014 there were more than 7,400 structural fires in restaurants throughout the United States. On average, restaurant fires cause three deaths, 110 injuries and over 165 million dollars in damages each year. It is a sad fact that the overwhelming majority of these fires start in the kitchen.
Fire Suppression
The Requirements For Commercial Kitchen Hood Fire Suppression Systems
The persistent possibility of a fire getting out of control is the reason why it is so critical for you have a high-quality hood system in your restaurant and make sure that you follow state and local guidelines for fire suppression to the letter.
The NFPA has a number of requirements relating to fire suppression installation, maintenance, and inspection in restaurants.
- Wet Chemical Suppression Systems: Under section 17A, the NFPA describes its requirements for using a wet chemical extinguishing system inside of a commercial kitchen. These requirements are meant to serve as a minimal standard to make certain that pre-engineered wet chemical systems will provide adequate fire suppression. Restaurant owners should use the publication as a guide to help them design, purchase, install, test, maintain and operate their equipment.
- The Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations: NFPA 96 sets out the fire safety guidelines for the proper operation of fire suppression equipment to help lower the chance of a fire occurring in a public or private commercial cooking operation.
- Monthly, semi-annual and annual inspection requirements. The inspection schedule requirements for fire suppression equipment will differ based on how and how often you cook at your facility. For instance, kitchens which use solid fuel such as coal or wood must have monthly inspections, but a restaurant doing a moderate volume of cooking and using a hood can get by with an inspection once per quarter. Certain low-volume commercial kitchens may only need one inspection per year
You can find the latest NFPA requirements at their website and don’t forget that you will need to adhere to all local fire codes as well.
How to Find the Right Fire Suppression System For You
There are many types of fire suppression systems available. The right system for your restaurant depends on a number of factors and there definitely is not one system which is best for all restaurants. Remember to keep in mind that before you compare different systems, your local fire codes will most likely have the biggest influence in which type of system you wind up purchasing.
With local requirements in hand, your first decision is deciding which type of fire suppressant you want like to use: appliance-specific or overlapping. The most common type of system is appliance-specific because it is less expensive to install, but if you anticipate moving or replacing the appliances on your line, you will wind up having to reconfigure your fire suppression system. The overlapping system which is more expensive to install gives you the flexibility to move equipment to different locations on your line or swap out equipment with no need to pay someone to change your system.
Your next decision is which type of fire suppressant do you want to use. Most of these suppressants are potassium-based and work by forming a blanket of foam over a fire, smothering it and trapping any flammable gases. Some suppressants spray a single layer of foam and others release an initial layer of foam and then periodically re-wets the foam with water. Both types of systems are tested and Listed to UL 300.
Whether you are opening your first or fifth restaurant, no one wants to deal with the details of a fire suppression system. Why not let the fire suppression system experts at Firetex, LLC, help you? Our company is different. We have years of experience dealing with state and local fire suppression requirements. Let us design and install the best system to meet your needs.
