Cooking grease is indispensable for frying and cooking. It is an integral part of the preparation of our favorite dishes. But the dangers posed by heated oils and cooking grease are often underestimated.
Grease fires are one of the most frequent causes of fires in private households. In commercial kitchens in hotels, restaurants, catering businesses, etc., fire can quickly spread throughout the building via grease deposits in ventilation systems.
What makes grease fires so unique?
Grease and oils can self-ignite if their burning point is exceeded through continuous heating. At about 300 °C (570 °F) they catch fire. They do not need another ignition source for this. Because of this high ignition temperature, cooking grease fires are enormously hot from the start and their temperatures can rise to more than 1,000 °C (1,800 °F) when they spread.
Any attempt to extinguish the fire with water can end in disaster. Due to the lower boiling temperature of the water, it evaporates instantly in contact with grease. This causes the resulting water vapor to “rip” the burning grease out of the container. As a consequence, thousands of small droplets are created that interact with the oxygen in the air. The resulting column of fire can cause extremely serious personal injury and property damage.
How can cooking grease fires be extinguished safely?
Rosenbauer installs highly efficient kitchen protection systems to reduce the risk of serious injury and property damage For private households grease fire extinguishers specially designed for fighting grease fires are suitable. It is important to use these extinguishing aids correctly and, above all, to have the fire extinguisher checked regularly.
To reduce the risk of serious injury and property damage due to fires in commercial kitchens, Rosenbauer installs highly efficient kitchen protection systems designed for businesses.
Safety through automatic extinguishing
The RPE Kitchen Ansul kitchen protection system is a specially designed system for the protection of kitchen equipment, such as grills and fryers. The fast and safe extinguishing effect is based on a reaction of the extinguishing agent with the burning grease and is fully hygienically compatible. Due to the reliable and fast-reacting extinguishing system, personal injuries, business interruptions, and the resulting financial losses can be reduced to a minimum.
The kitchen protection system can be triggered manually or completely automatically. When triggered, all assigned kitchen appliances are switched off first. Then the extinguishing agent is sprayed via special nozzles onto the seat of the fire and into the extraction hoods and ducts. When the extinguishing agent hits a burning grease surface, a reaction is triggered that leads to foam formation. This suppresses any further oxygen from coming in and possible re-ignition. It also prevents the development of flammable vapors that spread through the ventilation system.
Features
To prevent flammable residues from remaining in the inaccessible ducts, the fans can continue to run with this extinguishing system. The atomized extinguishing agent can thus be transported to the fire pockets.
- Extinguishing agent use only directly on the seat of the fire
- Only short interruption of kitchen operations when using the extinguishing system
- Extinguishing agent is harmless to health
- Residue-free removal of the extinguishing agent with a damp cloth and cleaning agent
- Workstation is operational again quickly
- Quick and easy installation – even when retrofitted
- Suitable for all kitchens, extraction hoods, and ventilated ceilings from reputable manufacturers
- Stainless steel design – matches the appearance of the kitchen