Kitchen Fire Safety: Automatic Or Manual Fire Suppression System

Did you know that kitchen fires are the most common type of fire in restaurants? If you’re starting a new restaurant, installing a kitchen fire suppression system is essential. If you purchased an existing restaurant, its fire suppression system is likely out of date. It might not be powerful enough to put out fires in the kitchen. Or it might not be up to code.

For example, a system that only protects the stove and oven fires won’t necessarily protect the fridge area where combustible materials are stored. If this is your case, you’ll need customers to stop calling 911 when they see smoke coming out of your restaurant’s hoods (the place where pots hang).

You don’t want to risk it. You and your employees could get injured and the fire department may not be able to put out the fire quickly enough. What’s more, your restaurant can burn down while you’re at work – which means the insurance will cover the damage but you’ll lose a lot of money in time and profits.

Why do you need a fire suppression system in your restaurant

Stop fire from spreading

The best way to prevent this from happening is by installing a fire suppression system from the best fire protection company. But which one should you get? There are two types of systems: automatic and manual. An automatic system acts like your restaurant’s bodyguard; it comes to your assistance when you need it the most. A manual system, on the other hand, requires someone to be present all the time.

An automatic kitchen fire suppression system can put out fires by using heat sensors that are installed in the kitchen ceiling. It sprays an extinguishing gas that will stop the fire from spreading. If you don’t have one of these systems, fires in your restaurant could spread far and wide before they’re put out – which means a lot of damage to your property.

Save lives

Fires can also lead to the loss of lives and employees. Fires spread fast and smoke is usually what kills. A fire suppression system can kill the flames before they get to your kitchen’s hoods. You don’t want grease fires to spread quickly because this would be a disaster for your restaurant business.

Avoids costs

An automatic system can save you money in the long run since you’ll only have to worry about its maintenance and installation fees. Manual systems might need to be manually emptied or refilled depending on the type of system you have. Besides, automatic fire suppression systems require fewer repairs because they’re not prone to human error.

Peace of mind

Since your employees don’t have to constantly monitor a manual system, it frees them up to do other things that are essential for running a restaurant business. The restaurant fire suppression system does the monitoring for them. As long as it’s maintained, you can expect it to work optimally on a daily basis.

Improve productivity

And because the employees are free from monitoring a manual system, they can focus on other more important business aspects of your restaurant such as cooking and serving food, hiring new people, or figuring out ways to bring in more customers.

You may be wondering what type of system you need for your restaurant or which one is the best value for your money. To help you decide, here’s a look at how automatic and manual systems differ:

Manual Fire Suppression Systems

If you’re looking for an affordable fire protection system, then a manual system may be the right choice for you. It’s also perfect if you only need to cover smaller areas like your office or storage room. You can put it up fast and easy – but there are still some things that you should keep in mind before buying one:

These systems are rather affordable because they don’t work on sensors. Instead, they use human operators who will put out the fire when it’s detected. Manual systems are perfect if you don’t want to spend too much money on a fire suppression system.

Automatic Fire Suppression Systems

If your restaurant or business has high ceilings or larger spaces, then an automatic system is more cost-effective for you. Since automatic systems use sensors and detectors, they don’t need human operators.

That’s why these types of systems are better in protecting larger areas like restaurants or factories. You also won’t have to worry about human error when using an automatic system.

These work well even in large spaces where it would be impossible to manually control where the agent is released.

Automatic systems are also more responsive than manual ones. This is because of their sensors and detectors. They can detect fires even before humans do, giving firefighters enough time to get the situation under control.

Plus, automatic systems act faster than manual ones when it comes to putting out fires. They’re also better when it comes to minimizing the damage that’s caused by fire, especially if you have high ceilings. Your business is your livelihood – so naturally, you want to protect it in any way possible.

With automatic systems, though, you can rest easy knowing that your employees and customers are safe at all times. And the best part is that you won’t have to worry about maintenance or repair costs because automatic systems are extremely durable on their own.

All in all, manual and automatic fire suppression systems have their own unique advantages for your business. But if push comes to shove, an automatic system will be better for protecting your restaurant from fire hazards.