Do Firehouses need a form of fire suppression on hoods or not?

[Builder Bob]

Fire house kitchen goes up in flames after grease fire

Aftermath of the fire (Source: WMBF News Reporter Crystal Moyer)

The fire began as a grease fire on the stove (Source: WMBF News Reporter Crystal Moyer)

The kitchen will have to be redone (Source: WMBF News Reporter Crystal Moyer)

FLORENCE, SC (WMBF) Firefighters are back to work at a Florence fire station after a grease fire destroyed their kitchen Tuesday evening.

According to Fire Marshal Ken Carr, spokesman for the Florence Fire Department, the fire ignited the kitchen of Fire Station Three, located at 1321 S. Edisto Drive in Florence around 6:30 p.m. when a firefighter was heating some oil in order to fry food.

Carr said when the firefighter walked away from the stove and out of the kitchen in order to speak with a friend, the oil caught fire and spread throughout the rest of the kitchen.

As a result, the firefighter is facing disciplinary action.

According to the Chief, he's embarrassed the incident happened at one of their stations.

The kitchen is so severely damaged, it has to be redone. In the meantime, the station is waiting for the insurance company to tell them how extensive the damage really is.

Right now, the firefighters have moved back into the station, but do not have a kitchen to use at this time.

 

[cda]

back to the argument if it is commercial

my say would be yes they need them

some have a method that if the gong goes off there is an automatic fuel shut off, so whatever source of fuel to the stoves is shut off

 

[Mac]

It's not the occupancy or building that needs the hood(s) - it's the cooking equipment that determines hood requirements:

507.2 Where required. A Type I or Type II hood shall be installed at or above all commercial cooking appliances in accordance with Sections 507.2.1 and 507.2.2. Where any cooking appliance under a single hood requires a Type I hood, a Type I hood shall be installed. Where a Type II hood is required, a Type I or Type II hood shall be installed.

507.2.1 Type I hoods. Type I hoods shall be installed where cooking appliances produce grease or smoke, such as occurs with griddles, fryers, broilers, ovens, ranges and wok ranges.

Upon activation, an extinguishment system in a type 1 hood should also shut off fuel to the appliances under the hood.

 

[Builder Bob]

Type I hoods shall be installed where cooking appliances produce grease or smoke....

I would say that the residential or domestic style range produced alot of smoke if you saw the pictures that were in the original article

....Also quoted from the article ".....when a firefighter was heating some oil in order to fry food."

I would say in this instance they had both grease and alot of smoke......

 

[gbhammer]

Many but not all fire houses are R2 use groups with mixed S2.

The kitchen is not commercial; no hood required unless they have commercial appliances.

The building should have had a sprinkler system.

Some but not all fire houses ignore the code requirement for sprinklers because 'We put out fires why should we have a sprinkler system'.

 

[north star]

* * * *

I'm thinking that that Fire Chief / Marshall has egg on their

face [ so-to-speak ], and possibly no job!.....Afterall, fires

happen to other folks, NOT the firemen themselves.

As " Mac " has provided the code section requiring the

approved type of hoods to be installed, suppose the

"powers-that-be" say that they are not required, maybe

because of budgetary constraints......You know the lament,

" ...we can't really afford a Type I Hood".

Now what?

* * * *

 

[permitguy]

None of our fire stations have commercial cooking appliances, so no Type I or II hoods are required (or installed). Most were built before sprinklers were required in R occupancies, and don't have them. Those where sprinklers were required have them.

As for any fire department trying to avoid required sprinklers or kitchen hoods, that is obviously a breach of ethics. Any chief who tries to use the "it can't happen to us" excuse should be evaluated for competency in order to justify their removal.

 

[brudgers]

NFPA would require a hood.

 

[FM William Burns]

Ours are not commercial and have a Type II with enlarged exhaust with full wet chemical suppression system.

 

[Mac]

FMWB going above & beyond! Our local FD also.

And let's not forget...from the NY Mech Code:

07.2.3 Domestic cooking appliances used for commercial purposes. Domestic cooking appliances utilized for commercial purposes shall be provided with Type I or Type II hoods as required for the type of appliances and processes in accordance with Sections 507.2, 507.2.1 and 507.2.2.

 

[brudgers]

FMWB going above & beyond!

The problem with the ICC is that applying the basic tenants of NFPA101 has become going above and beyond.

 

[mark handler]

ICC interpretations do define fire houses as R2/B/S2.

I would say it depends on the appliances used.

 

[gbhammer]

Absolutely an R use, and no matter how long you beat it over the head, it will still be domestic use not commercial.

If a commercial appliance is used in this R use occupancy, then a hood would be required.

 

[fireguy]

My experience in a small department (4 on a 24 hour shift) was the cooking we did generated no more grease than a family of 4. However, the fire department should be setting an example of fire safety for the entire community. For too many years, I heard, "we have a fire truck in the bay. That fire truck will handle any fire we have." or "Chuck knows how to wire that outlet, we do not need to call the building inspector". That kind of attitude makes it difficult for the inspector to go into a commercial building and require sprinklers, alarms, extinguishers and the the maintanence of that equipment. Credibility is important.

 

[mtlogcabin]

However, the fire department should be setting an example of fire safety for the entire community.

I love to walk through the fire house and remind them they can't have a propane Bar-B-Que on the roof and take their door stops holding open the fire doors

 

[icondrive]

None of our fire stations have commercial cooking appliances, so no Type I or II hoods are required (or installed). Most were built before sprinklers were required in R occupancies, and don't have them. Those where sprinklers were required have them.As for any fire department trying to avoid required sprinklers or kitchen hoods, that is obviously a breach of ethics. Any chief who tries to use the "it can't happen to us" excuse should be evaluated for competency in order to justify their removal.

i agree with that

 

[That Inspector Guy]

Type of appliances usually depends on the crew size. I have worked in firehouses with a crew of 4, with residential kitchen equipment, and I have worked in firehouses with multiple rigs, with crews from 8 to 14 in the firehouse. These kitchens always had commercial type equipment, and always had a suppression system. And someone mentioned an automatic shut-off for when the gong went off- Ours was not automatic, we had a panic button next to the doorway leading out of the kitchen.