What are some commercial kitchen equipment fire prevention tips?
Fire mishaps in a kitchen full of commercial kitchen equipment occur more often than you think, which can be expensive and risky. They can also negatively impact your venture. If the blaze was terrible enough, you might need to shut down until the necessary repairs are made. According to a recent study conducted by some prominent organisations, more than 50% of such accidents that need to be extinguished by the fire department include food preparation appliances. Most of these blazes happen in hotel pantries, fast food outlets, and restaurants. Commercial blazes often occur because these workspaces use a large volume of flammable cooking oil as a heat source and use an open flame sometimes. A destructive establishment accident of this nature can occur within just a few seconds. You must take the appropriate steps to prevent a blaze from breaking out in your commercial space. We have provided a few useful prevention tips below to assist you better.
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Perform an Adequate Fire Assessment Procedure
When you are running a food preparation establishment, it is essential to conduct fire prevention procedures. If you are unsure if your galley is secure or don't know the required steps to prevent a fire, you should think about following a flame risk assessment practice. It is often required by law to have a proper assessment, and one should hire a qualified checker to carry it out. If you fail to recruit a qualified assessor, the pantry checking may not be considered valid. During this process, a professional will locate potential flame risks by going through your workplace. You will also acquire new knowledge about the methods to take to keep a fire from breaking out.
Always Ensure Following the Instructions Written in the Manufacturer Manual
If your pantry equipment is not installed correctly or if it is not utilised properly, it can pose a significant flame-related risk. You must ensure that appliances like deep fryers, ovens and any other kitchen equipment should be set up and used correctly as per the manual provided by the manufacturer. When focusing on the cleaning and maintenance of your equipment, you should ensure that it is done correctly and frequently. Many organisational owners try to cut corners while installing and maintaining the device and think they are saving money. However, the above process results in more expenses in the long run. For more information, contact Simco – the leading commercial kitchen equipment supplier in Melbourne.
Use the Deep Fat Fryers with Enhanced Caution & Safety
Most food preparation ventures use deep fat fryers for their operations. However, these appliances can also prove to be very risky. If the gas gets ignited while the oil starts to overflow, it can generate a heavy blaze. Once this type of fire starts blazing, it takes no time to spread everywhere. This blaze can significantly damage the galley and be harmful and even fatal to the kitchen personnel. It is essential to provide your staff with the required training to fill the oil to the prescribed level and never leave the fryers unattended when they are being used. The best version of the fryer is the variant that will switch off automatically once the oil reaches the specified temperature. This feature will keep the oil from getting too hot and over-boiling or catching fire.
Set Up a Remote Power Closure System
Having a backup form of protection in an emergency is crucial. It will safeguard your staff's lives and prevent further damage to the pantry if a flame breaks out. It is vital to immediately shut the power or gas supply off in the kitchen if there is a mishap. If the blaze has spread too swiftly among your commercial kitchen equipment and you don't have a remote shut off, there might not be adequate time to cut the power by safely getting into the galley. If you are unable to cut the power, the blaze will spread quickly through the establishment, and there could be a potential explosion. A remote power closure system can disconnect the power when you are outside the facility.
Ensure Proper Installation of Extractor Systems and Ventilation
Another crucial consideration to stopping this accident is properly installing ventilation and extractor systems. Failure in doing so may result in spreading flames in half the time. Once the blaze enters the roof, it can travel to the rest of the building through the vents. Therefore, it is essential for a top establishment to adequately set up and maintain its extractor systems, ventilation, baffle grease filters and exhaust hoods. You must reach out to Simco – the foremost commercial kitchen equipment supplier in Sydney – for more clarity.
Keep your Kitchen Surroundings Clean & Spotless
Another crucial tip for preventing a fatal blaze is to keep your surroundings clean and hygienic. It should also be neat for sanitary objectives. It would be best to consider the severely accumulated grease on the cooktops and inside the stove as a grave hazard. It is essential to clean all surfaces and equipment regularly. You must clean the grease immediately if it spills or splatters. Ensure eliminating any food preparation oil waste from the pantry as soon as possible. Ultimately, you must ensure that nothing is blocking the exits. If a blaze does break out, you want your staff to be able to get out of the kitchen as swiftly as possible.
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Provide Proper Training to your Personnel
It is vital to offer adequate training to your employees so that they never leave a delicacy cooking on the stove unattended. If your pantry is preparing more than one dish at once on the commercial kitchen equipment, ensure that your employees own timers and use them for each cuisine. If there is a strong reason for your personnel to leave the food preparation area, they should go out after removing the food from the heat, as it doesn't take long for a blaze to break out in the establishment. Even if your employee gets delayed in returning, there will be no such danger if they have removed the food from the heat.
Always Keep Fire Extinguishing Devices in the Kitchen
If your kitchen is engulfed in flames, you can use the fire extinguishing equipment kept in the pantry to control the fire and prevent subsequent injuries and damages. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in a firefighting kit. If you don't have such a device handy during such a mishap, you have no other option but to wait for the fire services to arrive. Your building could even be destroyed by the time they reach your location. Therefore, keeping fire extinguishers handy for Class F kitchen fires would be best. You can handle small pan fires by keeping proper blankets in the pantry.
Safeguard the Kitchen Area Before Leaving
When the galley closes, it is essential to design a comprehensive list of every piece of equipment that you should switch off before the last staff leaves for the day. You should put one person in charge of this task and make them tick off the items on the list as they are switched off one by one. Every employee must ensure to leave for the night only after signing off on the checklist. Flame safety in your cooking location is just as important as the quality of the food that you are putting out. If you don't follow proper safety procedures, you could lose more than just your pantry. You can reach out to Simco – the foremost commercial kitchen equipment supplier in Brisbane & Perth – for such information.
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