Any employer of a business, or owner of a building, which features a commercial kitchen should understand the importance of having a kitchen suppression system installed.
Under the Fire Safety Order, if you are an employer, or are the owner, landlord, facilities manager, or occupier of business premises, then you are known as a ‘responsible person’, tasked with overseeing all aspects of fire safety, and that includes ensuring the appropriate suppression system is in place.
But why is it important that a kitchen suppression system is installed?
Read below for our four reasons why and how it can save you money in the long run.
1. A Kitchen Suppression System Keeps People Safe
Perhaps the most obvious reason on this list is the fact that a kitchen suppression system can keep you and your employees safe.
Nobody wants to have to deal with a fire, of any size, but if disaster does strike it’s vital that the risk to life is minimized as much as possible. Working smoke detectors and fire alarms, as well as a clearly signposted evacuation process, is obviously a big part of this but when it comes to commercial kitchens, the right suppression system is vital.
A kitchen suppression system will get to work nullifying the fire quickly after detection, which will help tackle the spread of fire, keeping people safe and helping towards a safe evacuation.
The leading kitchen suppression system is the ANSUL R-102, a wet chemical system that can be activated automatically or manually, distributing liquid agent onto the fire, to cool the source of the fire, preventing spreading and reflash. If needed, the agent will also react with cooking grease or oil to create a foam which effectively smothers the fire.
2. It Will Reduce Damage, Disruption and Risk
Again, nobody wants to face the consequences of a fire but if there is an emergency in your kitchen, you want to make sure that you can get back to work as quickly as possible.
That’s where a kitchen suppression system can really come into its own, getting to work on the fire in an instant, long before emergency services arrive, helping to get the situation under control and reduce property damage as much as possible.
With an expertly installed fire suppression system, you can save weeks of downtime and thousands of pounds of repair work on your property. And that is another reason why being fire safe is so important, the risk of neglecting your duties could have catastrophic financial consequences which greatly outweigh the cost of installing a suppression system.
One of the advantages of an ANSUL suppression system is that, in the event of a fire, it requires no specialised clean up procedure, and can be cleaned up with a cloth or sponge and some warm soapy water
The whole procedure of cleaning up and returning the system to a working condition will take several hours but in terms of time and cost, it is incomparable to the extended inconvenience of what would happen without it.
3. A Kitchen Suppression System Can Help With Your Insurance
The Association for British Insurers says that “fire is one of the most expensive property insurance claims, with £1.3 billion being paid out to customers during 2021” so it’s vital that you make sure that your building has the appropriate cover in case of an emergency.
If an incident occurs, and you are found to have not had the appropriate measures in place, your policy could be void which will leave you with a huge financial burden repairing the fire damage, and out of business for potentially much longer than planned.
Insurers will consider a range of fire safety measures, such as a valid Fire Risk Assessment and correctly serviced Fire Extinguishers,
A kitchen suppression system will also have an impact on your property insurance, decreasing your premiums, saving you money, and giving you peace of mind that you will be covered.
Some insurers will even help you cover some of the cost of a correct suppression system to prevent any chance of them having to pay out significantly more later down the line.
4. There Are Legal Requirements You Need to Meet!
Your premises could be subject to a visit from your local Fire and Rescue Authority, and it is crucial that when a visit happens, you can prove that you have the appropriate kitchen suppression system installed.
If not, they could issue a formal fire safety notice, telling you how to address the outstanding issues.
If the authority discovers a serious risk, you could be issued with an Enforcement Notice and if they believe that the fire risk is so great that people’s safety is currently at risk, they could submit a Prohibition Notice which restricts access to your premises until the issue is resolved.
Minor penalties can come with a fine of up to £5,000 depending on the severity whereas major penalties allow for unlimited fines and even two years in prison.
How Can Cannon Help With Your Kitchen Suppression Needs?
We are one of the leading distributors of ANSUL in the UK, working to keep customers safe over the length and breadth of the country.
Cannon are authorised distributors of ANSUL and qualified on design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of the ANSUL R-102 range. Leaving you save in the knowledge that your system is being fitted and maintained by accredited, fully trained engineers.
For more information about Ansul R-102, please get in touch.