Pub kitchen with fire door removed

[Chris Allis]

Hi All,

I have a dilemma regarding a small country pub who has recently reopened the kitchen to provide food at lunchtimes. The issue is that the previous tenant removed the fire door to the kitchen in order for the staff to move between the kitchen and pub without fumbling with the door! They also installed shelving and other equipment on the bar side so it is difficult to reinstall the door as it would open to about 45 degrees before hitting the shelving etc.

My initial advice would be to reinstall the door, or possibly install a sliding fire resistant door to form a barrier should a fire start in the kitchen, or leave the door off and mitegate by fitting automatic suppression possibly to extinguish a fire in the early stages. 

It is a small commercial kitchen with gas range,deep fat fryer and microwaves. There is a gas isolation point, extraction and portable co2/wet chem and fire blanket. A heat detector is also in situ.

My gut feeling is that the door must be reinstalled to the kitchen and relocate the obstructions so the door can operate correctly, the other option of suppression doesnt feel right to me as the smoke etc would spread into the pub which has low ceilings and little ventilation.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

many thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

[AnthonyB]

There's no automatic requirement to separate kitchens in this way and open plan is used in many cases - it's still of use for property protection and in some situations could be necessary for life safety - if you feel the layout of the premises is such the fire separation is important for the safety of relevant persons then it's appropriate to recommend it.

[Chris Allis]

Thanks for your reply Anthony, it always concerns me when a part of the original fire protection measures is removed for non fire protection mean.

Even other options such as a suppression system or possibly a fire shutter or curtain interfaced with the AFD doesn't sit right - just old school I guess!