Fire Protection for New Jersey Restaurants

As a New Jersey restaurant owner, you have many more responsibilities that simply ensuring the food tastes good. It’s also your job to keep your patrons and employees safe from fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, about 7,640 fires break out in restaurants across the country each year. These blazes cause an annual average of two civilian deaths, 115 civilian injuries and $264 million of property damage. Clearly, it’s not wise to keep your eating establishment unprotected from fire!

Fire Risks Found in New Jersey Restaurants

Three out of five restaurant fires are started by cooking equipment, meaning the commercial kitchen is the most important place to install fire protection equipment. This conclusion is logical, considering that open flames, high temperatures and flammable cooking fuels are common in restaurant kitchens.

Other causes of New Jersey restaurant fires include faulty heating equipment, electrical and lighting malfunctions, smoking materials, and arson. Combined, these causes represent less than 30 percent of all restaurant fires nationwide – the rest occur in the kitchen.

Train Your Restaurant Staff in Fire Safety Techniques

The first way to protect your restaurant against fire is to prevent a blaze from starting in the first place. This requires your staff to follow several fire prevention techniques, including:

• Clean the ovens, grilling surfaces and vent hoods on a regular basis.
• Roll up long sleeves, wear aprons and tie back long hair.
• Never leave food cooking unattended.
• Lock the doors at night to prevent intruders from entering and causing trouble.
• Keep exit routes clear in case an evacuation is needed.

You should also train your staff in the proper safety techniques if a fire breaks out:

• Activate the nearest pull station to alert everyone of the need to evacuate.
• Use a Class K fire extinguish on grease fires, not water.
• Only attempt to extinguish the fire it’s small and contained. Otherwise, evacuate immediately and let the automatic fire suppression system do its job.

Protect Your New Jersey Restaurant with Fire Protection Equipment

New Jersey fire codes require commercial kitchens to be outfitted with certain fire protection equipment. Confires specializes in every aspect of fire protection for your building. We install all the necessary equipment you need and perform kitchen inspections, routine equipment maintenance, repairs and replacements as needed. Count on us for all services related to:

• Fire sprinkler systems
• Commercial kitchen fire suppression systems
• Portable fire extinguishers
• Emergency exit lighting
• Contained gases
• And more!

Contact Confires for Fire Protection System Installation in New Jersey

Whether you’re busy building a new restaurant or expanding your current location, fire protection is vital both for code compliance and the safety of your patrons and staff. Now’s the time to safeguard your restaurant and the people in it!

For help designing and installing a fire protection system in your restaurant, or for inspection and maintenance needs, please contact Confires today. We have over 40 years of experience offering fire protection services to restaurants in New Jersey.