Restaurants have several highly flammable cooking ingredients. If not properly managed, a minor fire accident can cause structural damage and loss of lives. Restaurants take precautions to prevent fire accidents and manage fire accidents. A typical precaution restaurants take to prevent fire accidents is installing a fire suppression system in the kitchen. However, this is not the only precaution restaurants need to take to prevent fire accidents and be prepared to evacuate a restaurant.
Fire Accidents: Precaution and Evacuation
- Install an automatic fire suppression system in the kitchen
Since more than half of the activities in a restaurant can result in fire accidents, you must be fully prepared for a fire accident. One way to prepare for a fire accident is to install fire-suppression systems in your kitchen, always with the help of a fire protection services provider.
A fire-suppression system in the kitchen helps dispense chemicals that suppress the spread of fire in the kitchen; they can be activated manually or automatically. If activated automatically, fire-suppression systems will cut all-electric or fuel connections to the fire source.
- Reserve portable Class K fire extinguishers for kitchen accidents
Class K fire extinguishers are used for fire accidents that involve oil, fats, and grease; they’re also used for fire sources that burn at high temperatures.
Although class K fire extinguishers are suitable for fire accidents in the kitchen, you must not only have class K fire extinguishers in the restaurant. It is essential to have class A, B, and C fire extinguishers in the restaurant.
- Train your staff to use a fire extinguisher
Fire extinguishers are easy to use. Just remember “PAST”: Pull, Aim at the source, Make a Sweep motion, be Ten feet away from the source.
- Have a Fire Emergency Plan
Your emergency plan must include the building’s layout, emergency exits, and arrows showing how to get to the emergency exit. Also, your emergency plan must include your fire exit labels.
Often, we advise restaurants to avoid connecting their fire exit labels to their primary power source. This is to avoid a blackout of the exit labels in a total power blackout.
- Post your exit plans on accessible areas
Your exit labels can be printed or electronic copies. When mounting them, you must mount them in strategic locations in the restaurant.
Some strategic locations where you can mount exit labels are stairwells and back rooms. Also, you can mount them on post signs near doorbells in an elevator.
- Ensure your emergency exits are unblocked
A standard restaurant has two exits to a room to create an exit for customers if the primary exit is blocked. Even at this, restaurants must have separate emergency exits.
Ensure you keep all emergency exits clear of obstructions. You must permanently remove chairs, cartons, and packages away from the emergency exit for ease of access during fire outbreaks.
To Wrap It Up
Evacuating a restaurant after a fire isn’t hard. We have exemplified how to evacuate a restaurant after a fire safely. Howbeit, we don’t underestimate the role of fire protection service providers in evacuating a restaurant. Contact a fire protection service today to help you draw an emergency plan and maintain your fire equipment.
Celebrated as the leading supplier of premium fire protection and prevention tools, Miami Fire Safety Specialists adopts a proactive leadership strategy. Their knowledgeable team is well-versed in local fire regulations and caters to a diverse clientele, spanning commercial, residential, and restaurant sectors. They offer an extensive array of services, including planning, installation, maintenance, and inspection of fire sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, fire alarms, and kitchen hood systems. Miami Fire Safety Specialists places a strong emphasis on an unwavering commitment to safety, ensuring the safeguarding of structures, establishments, and homes from potential fire hazards.