As students head off to university and move away from home for the first time, kitchen fires in halls of residence are as much an initiation into student life as freshers week. With so many distractions it’s unsurprising that 15% of students say they have fallen asleep with food in the oven or on the hob, while 73% admit to being interrupted while cooking and leaving it unattended.
Conventional fire protection methods such as fire blankets and fire extinguishers are effective, but require the presence of a person to tackle the fire correctly. Sprinkler systems and smoke alarms save lives by providing a warning to inhabitants and protect the building to aid escape. But when a fire breaks out in a kitchen due to hot oils and fats catching fire, fast and fully automatic fire protection is the best solution.
Cooking fires account for 88% of university housing fires, resulting in $9 million in property damage in the US alone. A third of these fires occur due to equipment being left unattended, but 53% of non-fatal injuries happen when people try to control the fire themselves.
With no human intervention needed, fire suppression systems keep watch 24/7 and activate automatically when a fire is detected. Designed to be safely and discreetly installed in nearby cabinets, these systems provide reliable fire protection for people and property.
When a fire occurs, the system releases a Class F Wet Chemical that is uniquely designed to tackle cooking oils and fats. The Wet Chemical reacts with hot burning oil to create a thick soapy heat resistant crust on top of the cooking oil surface, preventing the flammable vapours reacting with oxygen. It has the same quick flame knockdown as Dry Powder or Foam, but Class F Wet Chemical has the advantage of the high heat resistant fire blanket.
With 10% of students admitting to setting fire to a tea towel and 56% to cooking while drunk, an automatic fire protection system that kicks into action independent of human intervention is a must for university housing operators and owners.
Contact Reacton Fire Suppression to discuss how our solutions can protect your assets.
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think