Notes from the Fire Marshal
August 2008
COMMERCIAL KITCHEN SYSTEMS
This year, a very important change in the Fire Code occurs. If you own a restaurant, this is the last year that your kitchen can operate without an upgrade to a new UL-300 hood and duct fire suppression system.
The new UL-300 systems have been around about a dozen years, and they have been installed in restaurant kitchens whenever the old tanks come up for hydrostatic testing. However, December 31 of this year is the deadline for all kitchen systems in California to be upgraded.
How can you tell if your kitchen system needs to be upgraded? There are several major clues.
(1) If your kitchen fire extinguisher is a red "B-C" extinguisher, there is a very good chance that the system is an old one, and needs to be upgraded.
(2) If your kitchen fire extinguisher is a silver "K" extinguisher, there is still a small chance that your system needs to be upgraded, but the fact that there is a "K" extinguisher installed is a good sign that the system has already been upgraded.
(3) The "for sure" test is to look at the kitchen hood and duct system tank. There should be a label somewhere on the tank referring to "UL-300"; if that is on the tank, you are already good to go!
If your system needs to be upgraded, you need to contact your fire suppression system service contractor. Plan on about 8-12 hours of work to replace the tank, nozzles, and maybe the piping. Generally, unless you are strictly a dinner house, you might need to close for a day.
The bottom line is that this upgrade is not optional - if it is not completed by December 31, your restaurant cannot open on January 1! If you need more information, or would like to schedule an inspection to determine whether your system needs upgrading, please contact Art Black at art@carmelfire.com.