Tag Archives: fire hazards

Sushi Crunch Fires Setting Restaurants Ablaze

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What is a Sushi Crunch Fire?

Deep-fried tempura flakes are a key ingredient sprinkled on sushi rolls for crunch. Known as agedama or tenkasu, Japanese for “tempura dregs,” they have been linked to a series of restaurant fires in multiple states.

Kara Nelson, a fire investigator in Madison, Wisconsin, worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to pinpoint the cause of the blazes which were caused by spontaneous combustion.

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Creosote in Your Restaurant Kitchen (It’s Not Just in Your Chimney)

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This entry is part 11 of 14 in the series Fire Prevention
Reports of fires involving wood-fired pizza and meat smoking ovens are increasing due to the growing number of restaurants that have added this cooking process. According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data, fire departments responded to an estimated average of 7,640 structure fires per year between 2006 and 2010. Three out of five of those fires involved cooking equipment. (more…)

How to Find a Qualified Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Contractor

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The consequences of not using trained kitchen exhaust cleaning (KEC) technicians can be devastating. According the U.S. Fire Administration, nearly 6,000 restaurant fires are reported each year in the United States. And, of those, a percentage, around 21 percent, depending on the year, are caused by a failure to clean. But the concern is for one restaurant: yours.

Restaurant fires are often kitchen exhaust system fires. It’s easy to look at that big hood and hear that fan and think that everything dangerous is being blown straight up and away, but that simply is not the case. The kitchen exhaust system comprises the hood, filters, plenum, fans and what may be a labyrinth of horizontal and vertical ductwork – and the parts that you can see are likely only a small portion of the whole. (more…)

Clean Cooking Equipment to Prevent Grease Fires

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This entry is part 9 of 14 in the series Fire Prevention
Onion rings, french fries, cheese curds, fried chicken, Friday fish fry. Is your mouth watering yet? What do all of these have in common – aside from being delicious, of course? These are just a few of the culprits when it comes to the production of large amounts of grease involved with commercial cooking. While exhaust hoods are designed to collect a lot of these grease-laden vapors and residues during the cooking process, the commercial cooking equipment being used to heat up the food is often overlooked and can become a collection point for grease.

For each year from 2011 to 2013, an estimated 5,600 restaurant fires were reported to fire departments in the United States, resulting in no fewer than five deaths, 100 injuries, and $116 million in property damage. Of those 5,600 fires, 64% involved cooking and grease played a factor in nearly half of those incidents (Source: U.S. Fire Administration). (more…)

Smoking Controls to Reduce the Risk of Cigarette Fires

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This entry is part 8 of 14 in the series Fire Prevention
In recent years, there have been an increased number of states that have enacted laws for prohibiting or restricting smoking at worksites, restaurants and bars.  Before 2004, there were only two states with complete smoking bans at worksites, restaurants and bars. With these restrictions in place, proper disposal of spent smoking materials, the correct location of designated smoking areas and effective housekeeping controls become very important because it limits ignition sources and reduces the ability of a fire to spread.

Regardless of whether or not your establishment allows smoking, the following measures should be taken to decrease the likelihood of a fire and/or in the event of a fire, reduce the possibility of it spreading. (more…)

9 Fire Safety Tips

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This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series Safe With Society
As we celebrate our 100th year in business in 2015, we embark on another century of commitment to our policyholders. Our mission is to protect the livelihoods of our policyholders, and, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In keeping with that theme, we’ll celebrate our 100th year in business with 100 important tips to help identify, evaluate and prevent dangers that could result in financial loss or injury in a year-long “Safe with Society” blog series.

Fire safety is intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. This includes measures taken to prevent fires as well as practices to limit the effects of a fire after it starts.

Use these 9 tips to evaluate and prepare: (more…)