Protecting Your Astoria Food Processing Facility: Essential Fire Extinguisher Service Requirements for Commercial Kitchen Safety
Food processing facilities in Astoria face unique fire hazards that require specialized fire protection measures and regular maintenance to ensure compliance with stringent safety regulations. From commercial kitchens handling grease-laden cooking operations to facilities processing combustible dusts, understanding and implementing proper fire extinguisher service protocols is critical for protecting lives, property, and business continuity.
Understanding Fire Risks in Food Processing Operations
Commercial kitchens provide an ideal environment for fire, equipped with any number and combination of ranges, broilers, fryers and ovens operating at very high temperatures in close contact with fats, cooking oils, and other combustibles. Not surprisingly, cooking equipment was responsible for more than 60 percent of the fires studied by the NFPA, underscoring the importance of following all fire extinguishing equipment requirements for the hoods, ducts, and cooking appliances used in commercial kitchens.
Beyond traditional kitchen fires, food processing facilities face additional risks from combustible dusts. Dust Safety Science’s “2020 Combustible Dust Report” reveals that of the 26 incidents in 2020, 50.2% occurred in the food products/processing industry. This research highlights that food is a prime culprit in combustible dust fires and explosions. The most obvious sources of dust in these facilities include flour, grains, proteins, spices, sugar and teas.
Class K Fire Extinguishers: The Kitchen Essential
In addition to your kitchen fire suppression system, a class K fire extinguisher is required in any commercial kitchen application. This extinguisher uses chemical suppressants effective on fires started from oils, fats, greases, and food substances. All restaurants with cooking equipment are required to have at least one Class K extinguisher.
The fire extinguisher should be located no more than 30 feet from the cooking area. One of the more recent changes in the NFPA 96 standard is the requirement for placards to be placed above all class “K” fire extinguishers stating that the automatic fire extinguishing system for the cooking appliance is to be activated prior to using the portable fire extinguisher.
NFPA Standards and Compliance Requirements
Several NFPA standards govern fire protection in food processing facilities:
- NFPA 96: The NFPA 96 Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations provides the requirements to help minimize fire risk and keep your employees and customers safe if a fire breaks out.
- NFPA 61: NFPA 61 is a food-industry specific standard that applies to three types of food processing facilities: Those that receive, handle, process, dry, blend, use, mill, package, store or ship dry agricultural seeds, legumes, sugar, flour, spices, feeds, dry dairy/food powders and other related materials.
- NFPA 10: Governs portable fire extinguisher requirements throughout the facility.
Regular Inspection and Maintenance Requirements
Besides its physical location being known and the extinguisher is easily accessed, it is required that your fire extinguisher is properly mounted and inspected annually by a certified company and to undergo regular inspection and maintenance. Perform annual fire extinguisher inspections is essential for maintaining compliance.
The fire extinguishers are not maintained in good working order… Failure to attach the correct FDNY issued tag… Failure to perform the monthly quick check… Expired FDNY issued tag are common violations that can result in citations and fines.
Professional Fire Extinguisher Service in Astoria
For Astoria food processing facilities seeking reliable fire extinguisher service astoria, M&M Fire Extinguishers Sales & Services, Inc. provides comprehensive solutions. Here at M&M Fire Extinguisher we only provide the highest quality extinguishers at a very competitive price. From commercial and retail buildings to school districts and construction job sites – M&M Fire Extinguisher will make sure you have the correct type of fire extinguisher – in the right place – in perfect working order – to be used if needed.
M&M Fire Extinguishers provides fire equipment to homes, offices, buildings and businesses throughout the NYC and Long Island area. Call M&M Fire Extinguishers today for more information!
Comprehensive Fire Protection Services
M&M Fire Extinguishers offers a complete range of services for food processing facilities, including:
- Fire extinguisher sales, service, and inspections
- New fire extinguisher installations
- Restaurant kitchen suppression systems
- Industrial, warehouse and factory fire protection
- 6-Year tear-down maintenance
- Hydrostatic testing
- FDNY violation removal
- Fire extinguisher repair and recharge services
With more than 35 years of experience, New York County business owners have been trusting our family-owned and operated company to handle all of their fire suppression equipment needs. From fire sprinkler installation to fire extinguisher service and repairs, you can count on our team of certified technicians to keep your New York City, NY property safe from one of nature’s most dangerous forces: fire.
The Importance of Professional Service
Our friendly staff reflect years of experience in sales, product installation, maintenance and attention to customer needs in our every interaction every day. A portable fire extinguisher is your first line of defense against a fire – and perhaps the most important part of your fire safety program. However, it is not enough to simply have a fire extinguisher.
Food processing facilities in Astoria must prioritize regular fire extinguisher service to maintain compliance with NFPA standards and protect their operations. Professional service ensures that equipment functions properly when needed most, helping prevent small incidents from becoming major disasters that could shut down operations and endanger lives.
By partnering with experienced professionals like M&M Fire Extinguishers, Astoria food processing facilities can maintain the highest safety standards while focusing on their core business operations, knowing their fire protection systems are properly maintained and compliant with all applicable regulations.