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1. What is a Commercial Fire Suppression System?

   June 24, 2015 by Total Fire and Safety

   (This is the first in a two-part series about suppression systems.)

   If you are in the restaurant business or have industrial paint booths, you are probably no stranger to commercial fire suppression systems.

   Suppression systems are tailored to a specific fire hazard such as cooking equipment or industrial chemicals. They consist of an alarm system as well as sprinklers to deal with specialized fires. While kitchens and industrial paint booths comprise the bulk of suppression systems, there are also specialized applications for computer and process control rooms, laboratories, libraries, museums, robotic systems, tape storage libraries, and telecommunications facilities.

   For Commercial Kitchens 

   Kitchen suppression systems are very important because of the continuous, dangerous combination of high temperatures and flammable oils. Since these fires cannot be extinguished with water, they must be doused with special chemicals. A fire safety service such as Total Fire and Safety can install a fire suppression system that includes commercial fire sprinklers to release the right chemicals at the right time to douse any dangerous kitchen fire.

   Systems need to be inspected every six months to keep up with NFPA standards. Total Fire and Safety can also provide thorough, efficient inspections, and can automatically remind your business when it’s inspection time.

   For Industrial Paint Booths

   Paint booth fire suppression systems are installed around spray-painting booths which use hazardous, flammable chemicals. The enclosed nature of the booths requires a separate fire suppression system to contain the fire. The suppression system disperses an extinguishing agent when a fire is detected.

   Since paint booths can be used for a variety of jobs that may involve different types of paints and chemicals, a professional assessment must be made to determine what kind of extinguishing agent will be used in the suppression system. Total Fire and Safety is experienced with all types of industrial paint booth suppression systems and can provide all maintenance and inspection services to keep your company in compliance. Total Fire also offers 24 hour emergency service for these systems so that any problems are resolved quickly with minimal downtime for the facility. For more information on Total Fire & Safety’s fire suppression installation, inspection and maintenance services, contact us or call 630-960-5060.

    

   Category: Fire Extinguishers, Fire Safety, Total Fire and Safety Tags: computers, fire safety technology, fire sprinkler, fire suppression, sprinklers, suppression systems, Total Fire and Safety | Comments Off on What is a Commercial Fire Suppression System?

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2. Do You Know What Type of Fire Extinguisher Your Business Needs?

   June 17, 2015 by Total Fire and Safety

   All fires and fire extinguishers are not created equal. It is important, especially in a commercial setting, that a business has the right kind of fire extinguishers available and ready to go for the most probable fires.  Fires are classified five ways (see chart below). While a restaurant may be most concerned with Type K fires, a manufacturing plant may be concerned with B or D.

   According to the NFPA, the materials which ignite the most industrial fires are flammable liquids and gases, and electrical wire or insulation. These materials are common in industrial settings, so be sure to follow all fire safety recommendations, and know what kind of fire extinguishers are best to have on hand in the workplace.

   Here is a chart that explains which type of fire extinguishers work for each type of fire. Of these fires, only one (type A) can be extinguished with water. The rest require special ingredients that cut off oxygen in different ways, therefore, it’s important to have the right kind of extinguisher on hand.

   

   Once you have the correct extinguisher in place, it’s also important to make sure that you have regularly scheduled fire extinguisher inspections and that your employees have correct fire extinguisher training. Total Fire and Safety offers fire extinguishers for every type of fire. If you have any questions about the type of extinguisher you should have onsite, or current extinguisher maintenance issues, please feel free to contact us at 630.960.5060

   Category: Fire Extinguishers Tags: Fire Extinguisher, fireextinguisher, Fireextinguishertraining, firesafetytraining | Comments Off on Do You Know What Type of Fire Extinguisher Your Business Needs?

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