Many things can go wrong with a restaurant, but the most pervasive danger is a kitchen fire. Kitchen fires are unfortunately too common in restaurants, so we’ve put together some simple tips for preventing kitchen fires that all restaurant owners should consider.
Clean Kitchen = Safe Kitchen
The priority in kitchen fire prevention and maintenance should always be to keep the workspace as clean as possible. Every kitchen needs to be clean for sanitary reasons, but it’s also vital to fire safety and prevention.
Grease is the biggest fire danger in kitchens because it can ignite quickly, burn, and spread rapidly. Restaurants must remove as much grease from the kitchen as possible and prevent it from building up.
Safety Tip
Never throw water on a grease fire—it’ll only splash the flame and spread the fire. Instead, use a specialized extinguisher or suppressant.
Conduct Regular Equipment Maintenance
Besides scrubbing away the grease, perhaps the best tip for preventing kitchen fires in your restaurant is ensuring that all the equipment works soundly and safely. Faulty cooking equipment is one of the most common causes of kitchen fires, and better maintenance is the most straightforward method of prevention.
Gas stoves, ventilation hoods, and other cooking appliances can all cause kitchen fires if they malfunction in the right conditions—so their maintenance is essential to fire safety. If your restaurant has cooking equipment that occasionally malfunctions or is well past its warranty date, consider upgrading to safer equipment.
Thoroughly Train & Educate Staff on Fire Safety
Another way to improve kitchen safety is to educate and train your staff on the basics of fire safety and prevention. Too often, fires start because an employee makes a preventable mistake or fails to follow fire safety protocols due to a lack of knowledge.
Everyone working in a kitchen and interacting with fire all day should know the basics of fire safety—including the fire tetrahedron and the elements of fire. All kitchen staff should also know what actions to take in the event of a fire, how to use an extinguisher, and where to evacuate staff and guests.
Safety Tip
Invest in Class B or Class K fire extinguishers for the kitchen, as they’re uniquely suited to extinguishing grease and kitchen fires.
Organize Frequent Safety Inspections
Keeping up with the prevention methods necessary for a safe kitchen is crucial, and restaurants should never take these precautions for granted. Fire safety inspections are a legal requirement every six months, but restaurants shouldn’t hesitate to conduct their fire safety inspections even more regularly.
Are the fire extinguishers still full and working? Is the sprinkler system still functional? Are the vent hoods grease-free? These are all important considerations to keep in mind when conducting a fire safety inspection.