Fire Extinguishing Systems for Commercial Cooking Equipment

In order to provide for a greater degree of fire safety in commercial cooking operations, the Office of the Fire Commissioner is requiring existing fire extinguishing systems for commercial cooking equipment to be upgraded. This requirement is necessary to address potential fire hazards caused by changes in commercial cooking operations and to implement technological advances in fire protection systems.

New Standards for testing and manufacturing fire extinguishing systems for commercial cooking equipment have been developed by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC). Previous standards were established approximately 30 years ago and since then, significant changes have occurred in the type of cooking equipment and variety of cooking oils used.

These changes have created the potential for fire hazards that were not considered when the previous standards were developed. Accordingly, existing extinguishing systems tested to the previous standards may not be capable of controlling and extinguishing fires occurring in current commercial cooking operations.

The new UL300 Standard “Fire Extinguishing Systems for Protection of Restaurant Cooking Areas” came into effect on November 21, 1994 and the ULC/ORD-1254.6 “Fire Testing of Restaurant Cooking Area Fire Extinguishing Systems Units” effective date was July 1, 1995.

An implementation date of December 31, 2000, has been established by the Office of the Fire Commissioner to provide for a phase-in period of the new requirements in British Columbia. This is intended to allow the operators of commercial cooking equipment and the fire protection industry sufficient time to plan for, and upgrade existing systems to meet these new requirements.

The following criteria has been established to assist owners of commercial cooking equipment, fire protection service companies and local fire authorities:

Existing Systems

Existing fire extinguising systems for commercial cooking equipment will require upgraading to meet the new UL300 - ULC/1254.6 Standards by December 31, 2000.

Any Changes to existing commercial cooking systems prior to December 31, 2000, will require the extinguishing systems to be upgraded to the new standards at the time of modification.

Re-installation of Used Equipment

Used equipment that is re-installed will be required to be upgraded to the new standards at the time of re-installation.

New Systems

All new extinguishing systems for commercial cooking equipment are required to be manufactured and installed in accordance with the new UL300 - ULC/1254.6 Standards.

Labeling of Upgraded Systems

Extinguishing systems that have been upgraded to meet the new UL 300 - ULC/1254.6 Standards must be labeled for inspection by local fire authorities. Fire protection service companies performing upgrades of existing systems shall provide labels that meet the following criteria:

• Labels shall certify that the system has been upgraded to the appropriate standard.
• Labels are only to be installed by the fire protection technicians qualified to perform the necessary system upgrade.
• Labels shall be affixed to the front of extinguishing cylinders in a location readily identifiable to local fire authorities.
• Labels must be made of permanent material that self destructs if removed from the cylinder.
• Labels shall include the following information
• UL/ULC Identification Number for System
• Month and Year of Upgrade
• Name of Company and Phone Number

This upgrading program is consistent with jurisdictions in other parts of North America and is intended to provide a greater degree of fire safety, and a reduction in fire losses from commercial cooking operations.

Interpretation Bulletins are published by the Office of the Fire Commissioner, in order to provide direction for the application and interpretation of the Fire Services Act, and pursuant regulations. Where applicable, the Fire Commissioner will issue accompanying approval or interpretative Orders, under the authority of Part 1 of the B.C. Fire Code. For further information contact: Office of the Fire Commissioner, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, PO Box 9490 Stn Prov Govt 800 Johnson Street Victoria BC V8W 9N7. Telephone (250) 356 -9000, Facsimile (250) 356-9019, e-mail: firecomm@hq.marh.gov.bc.ca, Internet: http://www.marh.gov.bc.ca/FIRECOM/