Advice to staff

[Lyledunn]

A very small restaurant was provided with 1x 6L wet chemical, 1x 2Kg C02, 1 x1.2 fire blanket all in the kitchen and 1x 6L Foam and 1x2Kg C02 in the sales area of the restaurant. For the available equipment, is below reasonable advice? For simplicity, would water mist not have been better?

[AnthonyB]

They shouldn't have been installing foam anyway as there is no contained Class B risk and the environmental impact is severe (as is the disposal costs).

Water most or multi purpose water additive (Firexo or Zenova) could cover all the premises risks in a single extinguisher type but there is severe pushback on these new developments as they would effectively half their bottom line on both supply and service - they even rewrote the British Standard on extinguishers (in variance to the rest of Europe) to force the use of multiple types

 

 

[Lyledunn]

Thanks Anthony. I have to admit paying insufficient regard to extinguisher provision for our projects, relying instead on the certification and service documentation to demonstrate regulatory compliance. 

Most of our work is in the hospitality sector and I see the foam extinguishers everywhere. Staff turnover is often high and training minimal. Even where staff have training certification, it is often a 30min online with multiple choice questions. Reaching for the right extinguisher in an emergency situation might be a stiff call for these folk, I know it would be for me!

I wouldn't care to bump heads with the BS but in the smaller establishments, I would like to see a single extinguisher type, safe to use on all the predictable fire risks present. 

My job is to ensure that a venue complies with all relevant regulatory requirements so that we can progress licensing (different here in NI). This involves everything from planning permission, Building Control approval, environmental issues, disabled access, fire risk etc. I have the background knowledge to challenge most things but loose extinguisher provision didnt really get the scrutiny it deserved. I will proceed with a little more care in future.

I must also say that it is a great bonus for me to have this forum alive and kicking and to have available the obvious expertise that you and others bring to it!