According to Hartford Insurance, 59% of all restaurant building fires are caused by cooking. The presence of deep fat fryers increases this likelihood by 9%. The best procedures to prevent or decrease the severity of such a fire is actually part of the underwriting information we provide to your insurance carrier in order to write your policy. Most insurance carriers require:
- All cooking equipment with vent hoods;
- All ducts equipped with a UL300 automatic extinguishing system (Nov. 1994 standards);
- All deep fat fryers with automatic fuel shutoff to stop oil from exceeding 475; and
- Have automatic extinguishing systems inspected semi-annually by a professional fire protection company.
In addition, you can decrease the severity of fires by:
- Calling fire department immediately.
- Keep a class K handheld fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Using only if the fire is localized.
- Evacuate quickly and orderly.
- Clean vent hoods and filters daily or weekly as a minimum. Be sure that cleaning used is recommended for the equipment so that additional residue is not left on the hood or filters.
- Have vent hoods, filters and ducts professionally cleaned at least once every three months to avoid grease accumulation.
- Properly maintaining automatic extinguishing systems per company instructions.
- Do not use oil of improper types or amounts.
- Make sure deep fat fryers are placed at least 16 inches from any open flames, or are separated by a steel or tempered glass baffle.