Restaurant fire safety

Restaurant Fire Safety

As the owner or the manager of a restaurant, you are ultimately responsible for the fire safety of both customers and the employees. This means you must comply to precautions that prevent fire within your premises.

There are various causes of fire within a restaurant setting, there are preventive fire safety measures that can be implemented to help in the prevention of fire, this applies both to the kitchen area and dining areas of the premises.

A Fire Risk Assessment helps to establish what the risks are, but there are some that are common and easily identifiable, we look at these in more detail below;

There are common causes of fires in a restaurant environment:

Faults in electrical wiring

The equipment and appliances in a kitchen, creates the presence of fire risk if they are not regularly checked. Wiring can become faulty if it is old or overused.

Modern appliances may require a higher voltage, in old buildings the voltage draw may be higher than the system has capacity to provide.

Kitchen appliances

The area with the highest risk is the kitchen area. Most fires in the kitchen are caused by a lack of or inadequate maintenance of the appliances.

Oil and grease can build up, frequent deep cleaning is required. Builds up of grease are not hygienic but also pose a significant risk of fire. Grease can build up on surfaces and frontages of fixtures.

Deep fat fryers, hobs, and ovens are examples of places where grease can become built up, especially in areas that are harder to reach without thorough deep cleaning.

Grills and BBQ’s

Some premises offer a tableside grill or BBQ, whilst customers enjoy the novelty of this, it comes with a much higher risk of fire. The propane used to power the grills and BBQ’s is much more likely to cause fire. The equipment should always be operated by in house teams rather than customers to reduce the potential of fire risk.

Kitchens with open plan features

Restaurants where you can see the chef preparing and cooking your food have grown in popularity.

Without walls and fire doors between the cooking and dining areas, if a fire breaks out in the kitchen area, there is a higher chance it will spread into the dining area. In the event of an emergency, it increases the risk of danger to people within the premises at the time of the fire. It also increases the damage within the property as the fire has a greater opportunity to spread between the areas with no containment.

The dining area experience

For many restaurants they want to create an ambiance that adds to the customers experience when dining with them. The decoration of the restaurant is often key to this, low level lighting such as candles and lanterns to create the mood.

These items pose a fire risk as they are often placed on top of wooden furniture and on top of table clothes. Left un-attended or knocked over they are a source of ignition for a fire.

 Preventing a fire can be easier than you think…

Knowing the basics of fire safety adds real value when reducing the risk of a fire at a premise. Most business owners will engage with a competent, accredited fire safety company for advice to ensure they are compliant. Once the basics of the fire safety strategy are identified, the owner and or manager must make sure that employees are aware of protocols and follow them. A checklist ensuring the precautions are outlined and can be referred back to as a guide is a good way of ensuring fire safety precautions are adhered too. Fire safety does save lives when implemented and maintained correctly.

A fire alarm system is an essential piece of the strategy. In the event of a fire, seconds can count. A fire alarm system will automatically activate and give an alert to customers and staff members alike. A fire alarm system offers the best opportunity for evacuation of a premise.

Fire doors help prevent the spread of fire and should remain closed, all to often they are propped open. Fire doors should also be regularly checked to ensure they are not obstructed and are not damaged.

Maintaining fire safety systems and equipment…

Fire doors help prevent the spread of fire and should remain closed, all too often they are propped open. Fire doors should also be regularly checked to ensure they are not obstructed and are free from damage.

Having the correct equipment is great, but it needs to be in working order.

An example of this would be a smoke alarm being installed but the batteries not working, without regular checks how would you know this would activate in a live fire situation? If the fire alarm panel is showing a fault this could also mean that the system is not working, or specific areas are not working.

Our website contains further information about the importance of Fire Alarm testing, servicing and maintenance.

Fire extinguishers are normally situated throughout the premise, this is based on the travel distance and type of extinguishing agent required. The extinguishing agent is based on what is in the area, i.e., cooking equipment with an electrical supply or bar areas. Having to travel any distance to retrieve a fire extinguisher is not acceptable.

Maintenance of kitchen appliances and equipment…

Sparks can be a source of ignition, so regular checks need to be carried out to wiring to look for damage or signs of wear. Regular PAT testing is a good way of reducing the risk, creating a safer kitchen environment. Whilst these checks can mean a little disruption, they also help to ensure that equipment is in good working order and well maintained.

Fire Safety Systems from the Walker Fire Group of companies

At Walker Fire and within our whole Group of Companies we believe that offering our customers trusted safety solutions is imperative to a quality fire safety solution.

Our trading history spans many decades, and we pride ourselves on being 3^rd party accredited within our industry. Our services start at the beginning with a high quality, thorough Fire Risk Assessment, from them we can design, install, commission, service and maintain fire safety systems.  Each solution is individual to the premises and our bespoke solutions allow for scalability using only the best equipment.

Our friendly team are always happy to help and with branches located throughout the UK and Northern Ireland we provide a local service with national coverage.