Incidents of Fires at Eating and Drinking Establishments

When it comes to dining and having the food of the world at your doorstep, there is absolutely nothing like New York City. Turn any corner and you’ll find food from every continent with mere blocks of each other. And while food is a major tourist attraction as well as something residents of NYC enjoy, a fire in eating and drinking establishments is a danger everyone needs to be aware of. No one anticipates a fire breaking out while sipping a glass of sangria or enjoying a perfectly cooked steak, but unfortunately, that sometimes happens. And business owners of restaurants and eating establishments need to be aware of the fire hazards at their locations.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) did a study on fires that occurred in eating and drinking locations nationwide during the years of 2010-2014. These were fires that were reported to local fire departments, not ones that were handled in-house.  As a result of these fires, the NFPA cites that 3 civilian deaths occurred along with 110 civilian injuries and $165 million in property damage.

 

As for causes and damages, we can look at these statistics:

Cooking Equipment: Cause of 61% of fires, 38% of property damage

Electrical Distribution and Lighting: Cause of 9% of fires, 21% of property damage

Heating Equipment: Cause of 9% of fires, 9% of property damage

Smoking Materials: Cause of 7% of fires, 7% of property damage.

We can see that cooking equipment and electrical malfunctions caused the most damage in these fires.  To break down the cooking equipment specifically, deep fryers were the cause 21% of the time and stovetops were the cause 14% of the time. In 43% of the fires, cooking materials were the first thing ignited.

Another interesting statistic to also note is that in 22% of the fires, failing to clean properly played a role.

So what do we take from this information? While we can isolate many of the causes of the fires to cooking and electrical equipment, once a fire starts, it can grow quickly and do incredible damage – millions of dollars in loss of property.  One way to keep a fire contained once it starts is through flameproofing. Items that are treated with fire retardants are non-combustible and do not contribute to the spread and severity of the fire. This allows valuable time for patrons to safely exit and for the firefights to save as much property as possible.

If your restaurant or food establishment is in need of flameproofing services, call us today. We have been an industry leader in New York City and the surrounding metro area for 50 years. We pride ourselves in keeping restaurants and all businesses in NYC and beyond protected through our flameproofing practices. Call with any questions or concerns, and we can also provide you with a free, no-obligation estimate: (800) 291-0904.

 

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