There are hundreds of thousands of restaurants in our country. Spending meals at local restaurants is a popular activity. Many Americans even utilize carry out services from local restaurants to provide meals for their family on busy days. Restaurant customers tend to choose the restaurants they frequent based on price, menu items offered, and the quality of the food. The quality is protected with frequent health inspections, ensuring that the food is handled properly and that it is cooked thoroughly. An often overlooked part of restaurant safety is the physical safety of the business, its employees, and its customers.

There are over 8,000 commercial kitchen fires reported annually. Fire inspection services are not as common as restaurant health inspections. Although health violations are likely to cause more cases of harm, a commercial fire can cause a lot of damages and injury to its employees and customers. Many of the commercial fires that occur every year can actually be prevented with proper fire extinguisher inspections.

Many restaurant employees, specifically cooks are aware of the proper health inspection and food handling techniques to follow. Yet, many of them are not aware of the proper fire prevention techniques. They may not even know how to effectively operate their fire extinguisher. Fire extinguisher services may also be overlooked by restaurant owners who do not have the time or do not feel it important to educate employees on proper fire prevention techniques.

A lot of the states in the country actually have fire prevention requirements in place. They simply do not have tight enough regulations on inspecting these requirements in restaurants. A majority of the country, 35 states, require replacement of non UL300 systems when the cooking equipment is changed, repositioned, or replaced, or if the existing system cannot be maintained. It is likely that a large percentage of both cooks, and restaurant owners are not aware of this rule.

Fire extinguisher inspections are actually simple procedures. They can be performed by the local fire protection company, the same one that came out and installed the fire extinguishers. It can also be serviced by local city fire fighter professionals. Finally, fire extinguisher inspections can even be checked by the business owner themselves. If a problem is identified, then a professional will need to be called out for the service for fire extinguisher.

Most of the services that fire extinguisher equipment requires are also quick and simple. One of the most common causes of a fire extinguisher not working is that it needs a fire extinguisher recharge. Over time, the contents of the fire extinguisher may settle, requiring an additional charge. The charge is quick and can last for many more years. However, considering that most restaurants do not use their fire extinguisher equipment often, it is likely that they will need regular recharges.

Some restaurant owners may opt to put off fire extinguisher inspections or fire extinguisher recharges to save money on a cost they feel is pointless. However, the prevention of one fire in a restaurant can save them from a lot of damages. Fires in restaurants and dining establishments cause an annual average of $246 million in direct property damage. Although some business insurance plans may cover a large percentage of those losses, businesses will find a significant increase in their deductible and premium costs.

Fires cause billions of dollars in damages to restaurants every single year. However, fire prevention is simple and is often overlooked. The simple act of having regular fire extinguisher inspections and fire extinguisher recharges can drastically reduce the number of restaurant fires that occur. Many states are so focused on ensuring safe health standards in restaurants that they often overlook the fire risks of the same restaurant.