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Follow on Google News | Learning the Lessons from Weston’s PierFollowing the destructive fire at Weston-super-Mare’s historic pier, I wonder how many other tenants of catering establishments and similar predominantly timber structured buildings are reviewing their fire prevention and protection needs?
By: Tony Robson If early reports are correct the source of the blaze is blamed on the deep fat fryers in the kitchen areas, but the rate of fire spread and its intensity gave the fire service little chance of saving the main building, a job already hampered by the limited land side access. It would be interesting to establish if the refit included the installation of an automatic fire sprinkler system, as you would anticipate they would have significantly reduced or at least slowed the fire spread. Sprinklers are only activated by heat generated in the vicinity of the fire, spraying water or foam to suppress it. They have proved highly effective and are increasingly used to protect occupied buildings such as schools, hotels and public buildings. It is also not widely understood that most fire extinguishers are ineffective against cooking oil and fat fires. Indeed some extinguishers like water and CO2 can actually spread the fire due to the high-pressure discharge. Dry powder and foam extinguishers are certainly effective against petroleum oils and gases, but not cooking oils. "The only practical solution is to use a wet chemical fire extinguisher that is specifically formulated from a cocktail of potassium salts to tackle this type of fire. The wet chemical reagent reacts with the burning oils creating soapy foam that covers, cools and smothers the fire. In the absence of a Wet Chemical extinguisher deploying a fire blanket over the blaze is arguably the next best option." Explains Tony Robson, Fire & Safety Centre. Irrespective of the presence of a Sprinkler system, every commercial kitchen should include a Wet Chemical extinguisher in their fire protection arsenal. A bonus is that they are also effective on Class A fires involving combustible solids like paper and fabric, although being more expensive you may opt to have a cheaper dry powder or water extinguisher as well. About the Company The Fire and Safety Centre is an independent stockist and trade distributor of fire protection products; namely fire detectors, manual fire alarms, extinguishers and other fire and safety solutions. A 6litre Wet Chemical Fire Extinguisher is under £80 + VAT from http://www.fireandsafetycentre.co.uk. A relatively small investment given the potential damage a fire can inflict. For more information, please contact: Tony Robson Tony@fireprotectioncentre.com 01724 854199 # # # The Fire and Safety Centre is an independent stockist and trade distributor of fire protection products; namely fire detectors, manual fire alarms, extinguishers and other fire and safety solutions. End
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