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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Safety => Topic started by: Simon Morriss on July 08, 2004, 09:01:31 AM
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I have been asked to give a 40 minute presentation on fires in catering areas and how they effect the business. I work for an establishement that employs a thrid party to provide catering and part of their contract is to clean the duct work. As owner of the property I need to ensure that they know their responsibility and what we require.
Does anyone have any relevent information, photos, presentation which I could have to develop the presentation.
As with all the things I produce anyone will be welcome to have a copy once complete, why reinvent the wheel!
Simon 8)
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The insurance company I work for requires our customers to clean their kitchen extraction ducting six monthly or annualy depending on how much it is used. Filters are required to be cleaned weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on use too.
We recommend appropriate fire fighting aparatus and training and also easy means of turning off the gas.
Look here for some info about a fire in a kitchen:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/39475.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/39233.stm
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Chris,
Please see your private messages.
Regards
Gary Howe.
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Suggest you have a look at the BSRIA document on this, which was supported by the ABI. It has good practical stuff that will help you with your presentation, including recommended periods for deep cleaning of ductwork, according to hours of use per day. Hope this helps.
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Chris, I understand that current wisdom is for an installed fire suppression system within the ducting if a deep-fat frying facility is newly installed in a catering kitchen. Others seem to now be saying that frying in pans on a hob should also have this installed. What's your view on this?
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The FPA have issued guidance to insurers about protection of kitchen ranges. I only see school kitchens, leisure centre kitchens and the like where the amount of cooking is quite minimal and I have therefore never felt it necessary to demand such a system. It's not really my area, you'd be better asking someone who insures retails premises.
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From a first aid firefighting point of view a light duty fire blanket can cope with pans on hobs of up to 3 litre capacity/300mm diameter.
Over that Wet Chemical is more effective, usually in a fixed system with manual release and sometimes fusible links, as well as being in portables.
Not all facilities have fixed systems, it's hit and miss, with identical premises fitted out at the same time not both having them. If a fixed system isn't present we require portable Wet Chemical units as a minimum.
Good staff training and an effective duct cleaning & filter change regieme apply across the board (80% of the staff in one complex full of units with frying had little useful training and didn't know where the Ansul pull stations were or how they worked).
A pan on a hob with a domestic type cooker, no ductwork, etc as is seen i many places needs little more than a light duty blanket. Where gas hobs for pans are part of the frying range set up they have WC nozzles for them as well as the main fryers (why not as the pipework & links pass them anyway, plus they have the ducting above them). I've seen recent systems where extra vertical pipework has been fitted to direct a zozzle into grills as well
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Thanks for your responses, Chris and Anthony. I had also thought that fire blankets and portables would be sufficient for a gas hob situation. However a kitchen designer for one of our new installations is saying that we should have an installed system there even though we have rejected a proposed deep-fat fryer. The additional risk with these I understand to be the increased accumulation of fat deposits within the ducting with the risk of ignition within relatively inaccessible parts at first unnoticed. Whilst on holiday a saw the remains of a hotel that was reported to have gone through this scenario. Although cleaning is the official answer, it is recognised that this is often skimped or not done due to the difficulty and disruption of the task.
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The FPA have issued guidance to insurers about protection of kitchen ranges.
Specifically:
RC16a - Recommendations for fish and chip frying ranges; and
RC16b - Recommendations for cooking equipment (other than fish and chip frying ranges)
Both available from the Fire Protection Association (FPA) 020 7902 5300
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Is this a recently revised version or the existing old FPA advice sheets?
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Both done in 2003
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Thanks again, Chris. I have ordered a copy from the FPA.
I still miss the old FPA Compendium system when, for a modest annual subscription, they would send you updates on a range of guidance sheets - in fact, I still have my set at home - but it's well out of date now and only of historical interest.
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Simon,
Here is a new one (from BBC News): Fire in airport catering building
More than 30 firefighters attended a blaze in a building at Stansted Airport on Sunday morning.
A spokesperson for BAA - the airport's operator - said the fire started in an industrial dish washer in a catering building on the airport site.
The building suffered smoke damage, but there are no reports of casualties.
The BAA spokesperson said the incident has not affected flights, and was not near the terminal building. An investigation will be carried out.
The airport is expecting record passenger numbers through the airport over the bank holiday weekend.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/3609860.stm
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Has any one go a copy of DW/171 which is produced by HVAC (Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association). This book is £20 to members £50 to non members.
I might have to look on E-bay!!!
Simon
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If anyone wants a copy of the joint BSRIA/ABI document on catering, send me an email, and I will return the pdf file.
Copyright will not be enforced, subject to no changes/plagiarism etc!
Mark.Newton@UK.royalsun.com
And agreeing with Chris Houston, as an insurance surveyor I wouldn't expect more than fire blanket and suitable extinguisher for a gas hob. When things get a little more complex, a fixed installation would be expected, complying with LPS1223.