Properly operating systems provide kitchen owners 24-hour fire protection of cooking equipment and exhaust hoods. Kitchens are potentially high hazardous areas and are required to have this additional protection per the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 17A and California Fire Code Article 10.
If the building has its own fire sprinkler system, you will more than likely see one of these pre-engineered kitchen systems over the cooking equipment and protecting the exhaust hood as well. Once one of these systems is activated (either automatically or manually), the kitchen system will discharge liquid chemicals in the hazardous areas and extinguish the fire. It is designed to interact with the grease that is burning, and upon the discharge of the system, it will cool down the metal surfaces as well as create a soapy, foamy barrier of a chemical called saponification that will help prevent oxygen from further fueling the fire. In an effort to aid in extinguishing a fire, the fuel source to the cooking equipment will also shut down automatically through the kitchen system and annunciate an alarm if one is provided.
Kitchen systems are serviced semi-annually to ensure continued proper operation and that it will work the way it was designed to. Over the years, as the way food is prepared has changed, the fire suppression system design had to change as well. In November 1994, UL-300 was introduced, which increased the number of chemicals that are now discharged into hazardous areas. The fire systems that were installed prior to November 1994 do not meet this new UL-300 standard, so by the second service of 2008, these systems will have to be retrofitted to meet this existing code.
If you run a restaurant or commercial kitchen in Southern California, contact our fire protection company to schedule a kitchen fire suppression system inspection today and ensure your restaurant will always be protected during a fire emergency.
Our Kitchen Fire Suppression Services Include:
• Installation of a complete pre-engineered commercial kitchen fire suppression system Detailed • Consultation • Engineering Services • Design and CAD Drawings • Plans, Permits, and Approvals • Factory Custom Stainless Steel Hood Fabrication • Custom Fabricated Welded Grease Duct • 3M 15A Fire Barrier Duct Wrap Fire Proofing • Residential Fire Suppression Systems • Electrical Control Interlocks • On-Site Coordination and Installation • Test and Balance and Final Inspection • Annual Inspections and Ongoing Maintenance • Regulatory Requirements • NFPA 17A • Wet Chemical extinguishing systems • Requirements for certified installation, operation, testing, and maintenance of commercial range hood fire suppression systems. • Requires UL 300 standard commercial range hood fire suppression system installations.
NFPA 96 Ventilation Control & Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations
This is required for kitchen exhaust hood, grease duct, and commercial exhaust fan installations. This requires electrical control interlocks to cooking equipment exhaust and makeup air fans and building fire alarm systems.
