<div style="max-width:740px;margin:0 auto;padding:0 2px;color:#414856;"><div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:8px;margin:0 0 14px;"><p style="margin:0;font-family:ui-monospace,monospace;font-size:12px;letter-spacing:2px;color:#3E8B20;font-weight:700;">FOOD SAFE JOURNAL</p></div><h1 style="margin:0 0 14px;color:#11213C;letter-spacing:-0.02em;font-size:32px;line-height:1.2;"><strong>Fire Safety in Commercial Kitchens: Where Fires Start and How to Stop Them</strong></h1><div style="width:74px;height:4px;border-radius:3px;margin:0 0 22px;background:linear-gradient(90deg, #65C93E 0%, #4EA82A 100%);"></div><p style="margin:0 0 20px;font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;color:#2C3340;"><strong>Commercial kitchens concentrate everything fire loves: heat, oil, electricity, and people moving fast. Most kitchen fires are predictable — which means most are preventable.</strong></p><h2 style="margin:42px 0 14px;color:#11213C;letter-spacing:-0.01em;border-bottom:1px solid #E6E8EC;padding-bottom:9px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.2;"><strong>Where kitchen fires actually start</strong></h2><ul style="margin:0 0 18px;padding-left:22px;"><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;"><strong>Fat and oil.</strong> Deep-fat fryers left unattended or overfilled, and oil heated past its flash point.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;"><strong>Grease build-up.</strong> Extraction canopies and ducting lined with fat turn a small flare-up into a building fire.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;"><strong>Unattended cooking.</strong> The pan that &ldquo;just needed a minute&rdquo; during a rush.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;"><strong>Electrics.</strong> Damaged leads, overloaded sockets, and equipment that trips and gets reset instead of repaired.</li></ul><h2 style="margin:42px 0 14px;color:#11213C;letter-spacing:-0.01em;border-bottom:1px solid #E6E8EC;padding-bottom:9px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.2;"><strong>The controls that work</strong></h2><ul style="margin:0 0 18px;padding-left:22px;"><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;">Never leave frying unattended; fit and maintain thermostats and fryer lids.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;">Degrease canopies and filters on a written schedule — and keep proof for your insurer as much as your inspector.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;">Match the extinguisher to the risk: <strong>wet chemical (Class F)</strong> for cooking-oil fires, CO&#8322; for electrical, and a fire blanket within reach of the range. <strong>Never water on burning oil.</strong></li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;">Keep escape routes and fire doors clear — the busiest kitchen corridor is still an escape route.</li><li style="margin:0 0 10px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.65;color:#414856;">Train the response: raise the alarm, isolate fuel/power if safe, evacuate, meet at the assembly point. Seconds of certainty beat minutes of improvisation.</li></ul><p style="margin:0 0 16px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.72;color:#414856;">Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and fire services legislation, employers must assess fire risk, maintain precautions and ensure staff know the drill. In practice that means a current risk assessment, working alarms and lighting, serviced extinguishers, and staff who&rsquo;ve actually walked the evacuation route.</p><div style="background:rgb(245,250,230);border:1px solid #BCD3AE;border-radius:12px;padding:22px 24px;margin:30px 0;"><p style="margin:0 0 8px;font-size:18px;color:#11213C;"><strong>Fire training for every kitchen — and wardens who lead it</strong></p><p style="margin:0 0 14px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.6;color:#414856;">Our CPD-accredited Fire Safety course covers prevention, extinguishers and evacuation in about 75 minutes; Fire Warden training adds the leadership role.</p><p style="margin:0;"><a href="/courses/fire-safety-training" style="color:#ffffff;background:#4EA82A;padding:11px 22px;border-radius:9px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:700;font-size:15px;display:inline-block;">See the Fire Safety course &rarr;</a></p></div><h2 style="margin:42px 0 14px;color:#11213C;letter-spacing:-0.01em;border-bottom:1px solid #E6E8EC;padding-bottom:9px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.2;"><strong>Frequently asked questions</strong></h2><p style="margin:0 0 6px;font-size:17px;color:#11213C;"><strong>Do I legally need a fire warden?</strong></p><p style="margin:0 0 16px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.72;color:#414856;">You must have arrangements for evacuation, and in most workplaces that means designated, trained people. How many depends on your size, layout and shifts — every shift needs cover, including weekends.</p><p style="margin:0 0 6px;font-size:17px;color:#11213C;"><strong>How often should fire training be refreshed?</strong></p><p style="margin:0 0 16px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.72;color:#414856;">Induction for every new starter, refreshed regularly (commonly every three years) and whenever the layout, equipment or team changes significantly. Drills more often.</p><p style="margin:0 0 6px;font-size:17px;color:#11213C;"><strong>What&rsquo;s the single biggest kitchen fire mistake?</strong></p><p style="margin:0 0 16px;font-size:17px;line-height:1.72;color:#414856;">Water — or a wet cloth — near burning oil. It flash-vaporises and turns a pan fire into a fireball. Lid, blanket or wet chemical extinguisher, or get out and let the alarm do its job.</p></div>

Fryers, grease and unattended pans: where kitchen fires start, the extinguishers that work, and the legal duties Irish employers hold.

Fire Safety in Commercial Kitchens: Where Fires Start and How to Stop Them

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Fire Safety in Commercial Kitchens: Where Fires Start and How to Stop Them

Fire Safety in Commercial Kitchens: Where Fires Start and How to Stop Them

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