A Helpful Guide To Restaurant Fire Safety
This blog will cover important things to know when it comes to Restaurant Fire Safety. When running a restaurant you will need to understand and complete certain forms and training, this is done to keep you, your business, your employees, and your customers safe. As a restaurant is a non-domestic premise you would need to follow the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The most common causes of a fire in restaurants are:
Equipment:
Cooking equipment is found to be the main cause of fires in restaurants. This is generally due to not maintaining the equipment or poor cleaning that causes this.
Faulty Wiring and Electricals:
Make sure to complete regular checks on your equipment wiring. Untested equipment could cause faulty plugs and inner circuitry. From this heat will most likely be generated, leading to a fire.
Decorations and USPs:
Fire doesn't always start in the kitchen, it can also happen in the dining area with lanterns or aging lighting equipment. So bear this in mind, when doing the regular checks in the kitchen and bar areas.
Possible consequences of a restaurant fire:
The Human Cost:
Even though the statistics are low for deaths of people in restaurant fires, fire is still a real threat. It has been found that during the 2019 to 2020 time period, food and drink venues, such as restaurants, “saw 2 deaths and 101 injuries in the UK”.
The Financial Cost:
The thought of a fire is devastating. However, the aftermath can be more overwhelming. It has been found that “80% of UK businesses which have a major fire incident fail to reopen completely or close within 18 months.” This, overall, could lead to unemployment, homelessness, and loss of the business.
Current UK Legislation for Fire Safety:
The current UK fire safety legislation is based on the Regularly Reform (Fire Safety) Order, 2005. Within your premises, there should be a designated person for keeping the fire safety procedures and legislation documents up-to-date (known as a Responsible Person). This said, it is important to understand there could be more than one Responsible Person, these people should work collaboratively, with fire safety interests in mind.
Common Risks
Maximum Occupancy:
Understanding and setting your business maximum occupancy is important, this is based on your business’s size. This will help you understand how many dining room tables, bar space, customers, and staff, you can have on shift at one time.
The Layout:
When planning out the layout of your house, make sure you are taking into account the fire escape routes, and fire exits and ensure you’ve completed a risk assessment. After planning, make sure you and all staff are aware of the fire exits being clear.
Training:
It is a legal obligation to issue fire safety training to ALL staff. The Responsible Person can provide this to employees face to face or online.
Daily Managements
Maintain Stock:
It is important to maintain fire fighting equipment and keep a stock list, ensuring if a product is used, it is replaced as soon as possible.
Maintain checks:
As well as this, maintain your fire safety checks on equipment, kitchen, and the dining/bar area.
Clean:
Cleaning the places that are hard or out of reach is important. A buildup of grease can often become hard and be stuck on appliances. This will also eliminate the long-term cost of needing professional cleaning crews if it isn’t accumulating over time.
If you’d like more information on fire safety for restaurants, why not read our blog on Takeaway, Restaurants & Cafes Fire Safety. Or for more information on fire safety training, contact us today.
