distance between hazards and fire exit doors

[boro]

Hi

I have been asked if an existing enclosed wash-up room that opens into a bar area, can be converted into an open plan grille/wash-up area which incurs the removal of the existing doors to the wash-up room and the installation of two large grills/hot plates. My concern is by doing this there will be no fire resistance screen between the open plan cooking area and the existing double fire exit doors, of which will be within 500mm of this area. Is there any guidance regards recommended distances between hazards and fire exits or will this be  purely down to a risk assessment. There is a further two alternative exits to this bar area but they both fall into the rule of 45. The total floor area is 210 m² and the maximum travel distance to a final exit is 22m.
Any advice would be  greatly appreciated.

[nearlythere]

Hi

I have been asked if an existing enclosed wash-up room that opens into a bar area, can be converted into an open plan grille/wash-up area which incurs the removal of the existing doors to the wash-up room and the installation of two large grills/hot plates. My concern is by doing this there will be no fire resistance screen between the open plan cooking area and the existing double fire exit doors, of which will be within 500mm of this area. Is there any guidance regards recommended distances between hazards and fire exits or will this be  purely down to a risk assessment. There is a further two alternative exits to this bar area but they both fall into the rule of 45. The total floor area is 210 m² and the maximum travel distance to a final exit is 22m.
Any advice would be  greatly appreciated.

Some guidance does say that kitchen and cooking areas should be enclosed to 1/2 fr standard. This is very impractical and undesirable and many restaurants prefer open cooking arrangements.
My thoughts would be that as you have adequate alternative means of escape which allows persons to move away from the grill/hotplate location it shouldn't be a big issue.

[Mr. P]

With regards exit, and, safety to /for others, by removing the doors the situation is made worse, and worse still by changing to cooking grill area, but, as nearly says, if there is suitable alternative exit routes... but always harder to determine without a view of plans etc.

[dave3974]

It would be good practice to put the cooking/kitchen area behind FR , if you consider it a major hazard--however if you visitv your local Mc Donalds and other establishments youn will see cooking areas open to the shop floor area. You need to assess the your travel distance and the provision of exits.
 

[AnthonyB]

Suppression systems can also compensate, bung in a water fog or wet chemical system (which should be in as a matter of course anyway) but have he automatic fusible links as well as the pull stations.

This could be cited as mitigation - I've had supression accepted as mitigation by enforcing authorities in the past for similar MoE related issues.