Working in a commercial kitchen can be quite challenging. In addition to the stress of getting quality meals out on time, there’s the added responsibility of safety, such as avoiding a fire. With high-temperature cooking equipment, grease buildup and flammable materials, the risk can be quite high.
Fire prevention in your commercial kitchen can involve anything from using fire rated caulking in certain spaces to training your staff on the necessary safety protocols. If you’re considering upgrading your commercial kitchen, or you’ve just opened your restaurant business, then this post is worth a read!
Fireproof Your Commercial Kitchen in the Early Days
It’s important to take steps to fireproof your commercial kitchen before you open the doors for your first meal service. Our team of safety experts urges business owners not to wait for a life-threatening emergency before taking the necessary steps to safeguard your kitchen, employees and customers.
Start With Safety in Mind
Taking the time to perform a safety assessment should be the first step in designing and planning your kitchen. This may be easier if you’re designing your kitchen from scratch. However, if you’re moving into an existing kitchen, the appliances, pipes, cookers and grillers will most likely already have been installed. This means you will have to implement safety measures based on the current installation.
Typically, enlisting the help of an industry expert will make it easier to identify potential risk areas. You should also spend time in the kitchen during the busiest part of the day to see which aspects are posing a potential risk.
Insist on Fire Rated Caulking
Caulking forms an essential part of any kitchen. However, commercial kitchens should opt for fire rated caulking. Essentially, this type of caulking has been designed to seal joints and gaps in fire-resistant floors, walls and partitions.
Adding this caulking will prevent or slow down the spread of fire and smoke.
Keep in mind that the red fire rated caulking is not the same as the regular white caulking that you may be using in your residential kitchen. So, it’s easy to see which type was applied previously.
Use Proven Fire Suppression Systems
Commercial kitchens are required by Australian law to adhere to specific standards and codes to reduce the risk and damage caused by fires. A quality restaurant fire-suppression system will automatically shut down the electricity and gas supplies to the premises once a fire has been detected.
Train Employees on Fire Safety
All staff in your business should be trained in various safety protocols. While many restaurants only believe this to be necessary for kitchen staff, keep in mind that other staff are also walking in and out of the kitchen area. They must also know the rules to follow and what to do during an emergency.
Training that should be given includes the following:
- General safety training about what to do in an emergency – this includes knowing how to get customers and staff out of the building.
- All staff should know where the fire extinguishers are and how to use them.
- Employees should be taught how to identify, and safely handle or dispose of flammable materials.
- Have regular safety meetings where staff are required to note any unsafe kitchen practices that they have seen. This is not to “snitch” on fellow employees but rather to safeguard the kitchen.
- All employees should know where to switch off the gas, electricity and water in case of an emergency.
Local fire department contact numbers should also be prominently displayed.
Install Fire Alarms and Smoke Detectors
Smoke detectors and fire alarms should never be skimped on in your commercial kitchen, no matter how tight your budget is. These alarms and smoke detectors form an integral part of your fire prevention system.
Typically, smoke detectors should be installed in the kitchen and at the entrance of the restaurant area. This will make smoke detection easy in the early stages of a kitchen fire. Be sure to schedule regular tests for all components of your fire system to ensure that everything is working properly.
Ensure That all Flammable Materials are Handled with Care
The biggest culprit of kitchen fires is the negligent handling of flammable materials such as grease, oil and even cleaning materials. Be sure to implement strict policies about how all these materials should be used, stored and disposed of.
Put a list of procedures on a wall or notice board in the kitchen for new staff to refer to in case of uncertainty. Enforce simple rules, such as cleaning up spills immediately and switching off appliances that aren’t in use.
Final Thoughts
Going the extra mile to prevent any fires from starting in your commercial kitchen is an important part of everyone’s job description. Simple practices such as keeping the kitchen clean, maintaining a spark suppression system and having working smoke detectors in strategic places will go a long way toward preventing fires.
Give yourself some added peace of mind by installing the right equipment from the first day!
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