#401 – Thank You for Fire

Sprinkler Safety:
Restaurant Edition
January 11, 2022

Fire sprinklers and hood and duct

suppression systems control restaurant
fires—and may stop them cold
Google “restaurant fire,” and a couple of things stand out.

First, there are a lot more blazes in restaurants than you might think, as
consistent local news stories of fires and fire department responses
populate the results. Second, most of these stories have a safe ending.
The majority of fires are controlled with few or no injuries and minor
damage.

Why? Working automatic fire sprinklers and hood and duct systems play
a huge role. And this safety is only possible through the code compliance
and inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) overseen by restaurant
owners and managers.

QRFS thanks these conscientious individuals for installing and

maintaining the systems that protect properties, patrons, and staff!

Restaurant fires can have dramatically

different effects
In August 2019, firefighters from the Rock Township Fire Protection
District (RTFPD) in Jefferson County, MO, were alerted to a late-night
fire at Las Fuentes Mexican Restaurant.

From the outside, nothing was apparent—at first. But firefighters soon
“noticed smoke coming from the roof thru the exhaust of the kitchen
hood, as well through the windows.” After entry, they found smoke
gathered along the floor, “mild heat,” and “a single sprinkler activation
along with the Ansul extinguishing system discharge in the hood.”

The Ansul system was likely an ANSUL® R-102, an effective wet chemical
kitchen hood and ductwork system that sprays “an aqueous solution of
organic salts” to knock down flame and cool the area around the fire.
The kitchen hood system, in conjunction with a lone sprinkler, “kept the
fire from spreading outside of the hood,” according to RTFPD Fire
Marshal Jeff DeLapp. And the restaurant only sustained “mild smoke
damage.”