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Restaurant fire risk assessment: Hospitality businesses are more prone to fires because cooking is usually the main activity in kitchen areas. Not only does a fire in a commercial kitchen put the lives of everyone working at risk, but it also endangers your business as a whole. Not only does it put your guests at risk, but their unfamiliarity with the area also hinders their escape process.
You must be aware of the elements to continually assess if you’re in charge of organizing fire safety procedures and doing risk assessments in your hospitality setting. The only fire your crew should ever encounter is one used for preparing food. Therefore, managing hazards and keeping up with effective emergency protocols are crucial.
A commercial kitchen is a hotbed for fire safety issues whether you manage a restaurant, tavern, or takeaway. While inadequate grease cleaning is a fire waiting to happen, poorly maintained cooking equipment could cause sparks or flames.
A restaurant fire risk assessment’s objectives are to recognize fire dangers, pinpoint those at risk, analyze, eliminate, or lessen those risks, document your findings, create an emergency plan, offer training, and conduct routine reviews and updates.
After industrial and retail properties, there were 1,510 fires in food and beverage establishments in 2018–19, making them the third most common business setting overall. Faulty equipment and leads, followed by improper equipment or appliances, were the primary causes of fires in non-dwelling buildings in 2017–18.
All businesses are required to conduct periodic fire risk assessments under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This entails determining whether the current solutions are adequate and, if not, what changes need to be made.
When conducting a restaurant fire risk assessment, there are several things you need to take into account:
Once you have considered all of these factors, you must look for potential fire hazards. This could include electrical equipment, combustible materials, and ignition sources. Once you have identified the hazards, you need to assess their risks.
It would be best if you then put measures to control the risks, such as ensuring that electrical equipment is properly maintained and combustible materials are stored safely. You also must ensure that your staff is properly trained to use the equipment and deal with a fire should one break out.
Finally, you need to create an emergency plan, so everyone knows what to do if a fire breaks out. This should include evacuating the premises, calling the fire brigade, and using a fire extinguisher.
It is important to remember that a fire risk assessment is not a one-time exercise. Instead, you need to review it regularly and update it as necessary to ensure it remains effective.
Here are some tips you can use every day to help manage fire safety in your restaurant:
All food service employees should receive fire safety training when hired and annually after that. The frequency of training may be increased if the fire hazard changes or if problems are identified.
The following topics should be covered in all employee training sessions:
Regular training sessions will help ensure that your employees are properly prepared in a fire. Reviewing evacuation procedures regularly will also help ensure that everyone knows what to do and where to go in an emergency.
Regular fire drills are the best way to ensure that your employees know what to do in the event of a fire. Fire drills should be conducted at least once yearly and more often if the fire hazard changes or problems are identified.
When conducting a fire drill, ensure all employees know when and how to evacuate the building. Evacuation should be conducted orderly, and everyone should know where to go once they have left the building. After the drill is complete, debrief your employees and identify any areas that need improvement.
Fire safety is a critical part of any restaurant. Educating your employees and conducting regular fire drills can help ensure that everyone knows what to do in the event of a fire.
For owners and managers of restaurants, fire safety is a never-ending struggle. You are ultimately in charge of the health and well-being of your coworkers, clients, and neighbors; therefore, take this responsibility seriously.
I hope you have enjoyed to read this blog. Feel free to leave a feedback in the below comment section or contact Fire Safety Risk Assessment to discuss anything about restaurant fire risk assessment.
Sabrina Harper nearly caused an accidental fire once in the kitchen that could’ve engulfed the whole house. She survived that experience and vowed to increase general awareness about fire risk. She joined Fire Safety Risk Assessment and has been trained as a professional fire risk assessor, which has allowed her to help countless people and households mitigate the threat of accidental fire that could’ve caused considerable loss of life otherwise.
The keen passion of Fire Safety Risk Assessment is to offer professional services, delivered in a timely manner. For all businesses, commercial premises & landlords, FSRA keeps your businesses safe controlling the risk of loss from fire hazards, asbestos risks and from legionella bacteria.