Fire safety is essential in commercial kitchens. It’s not just the operational part where your restaurant team must be fire-safe. The way your commercial kitchen is constructed and laid out will determine how fire-safe the area is overall.
Fortunately, there are specific fire-resistant materials that can help you promote fire safety in your building, as well as fire-resistance measures you can take to keep your premises and the people in it safe.
Fire Resistant Materials
There are certain fire-resistant materials that may make your commercial kitchen safer from a fire safety point of view. Here are some fire-resistant materials you may want to include in your kitchen design:
- Stainless Steel: Stainless steel is a readily used material for commercial kitchens as it doesn’t easily catch fire, has a high melting point, and is not combustion-supportive.
- Marble: Marble also resists heat and fire; therefore, this material is a favorite to use in some commercial kitchens.
- Fire-Retardant Treated Wood: For commercial kitchens where a wood material is desired, fire-retardant-treated wood is best. This type of material can help control the spread of smoke and flame.
- Glass: Glass is another fire-resistant material you may want to include in your commercial kitchen, as fire-rated glass is meant to handle high temperatures.
- Fire-Retardant Fabric, Paints, and Coatings: When choosing fabric, paints, and coatings for your commercial kitchen, be sure to ask about the fire-retardant qualities of these materials.
Additional Fire Resistance Measures
In addition to choosing the best fire-resistant materials for your commercial kitchen design, you may want to consider additional fire-resistance measures, including the following:
- Flameproofing: Flameproofing, including dry cleaning for soft goods and drapery items, can add a fire-retardant quality to items in your kitchen area.
- Firestopping: Firestopping is another method to add fire resistance attributes to your premises and entails adding seals to any openings in the floors and walls to prevent fire, smoke, and toxic gases from moving throughout your building.
- Fireproofing: Fireproofing is a spray-on method that adds a fire-resistant layer to your premises.
By using the most effective fire-resistant materials and taking extra fire-resistance measures, you can ensure your commercial kitchen is as fire-safe as possible. Total Fire Protection can help!
