Are we in the fire prevention business

Are exhaust cleaners in the fire prevention business?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 57.9%

  • No

    Votes: 16 42.1%
  • Total voters
    38
I was able to get the opinion of an expert who defines our work as maintenance to remove fire hazard from grease build-up. I guess we can all agree with that.

Richard
 
It's in my company name .. Fire Prevention ,, Fire Protection , And Life Saving Devices..
Heck I even sell fire equipment hose, gear and storz tools and fittings to 6 Voulanteer Fire Stations in Mississippi..

As far as Hood Cleanings go .. I have some fire inspectors that require me to give then notice when and how often I Clean certian Restaurants....

PRO ( FREAKIN ) Fessional .....

So yes we are in the Fire Prevention BIZ.....
 
Ok here is what we do.. On every Hood That B&R Cleans we have what is called a recommedation sheet.. We recommend cleanings at certian intervals.. We also state on this sheet that we are not liable for any or all fires caused by neglagence of the employees of the restaurant or faulty appliances.. The Customer's are fine with this , they all sign it.. and 1 copy goes to them, one goes in our files and one goes to the local AHJ..

Before I Clean a new account we get this rec form signed ,, if not signed we leave.

I have left accounts before because of this sheet but hey they eventually call me ....
Because lets face it , I do the job right the fist time and everytime.
 
It's funny how much my perception of this has been altered in the last few months. I guess it is a combination of the education I have gotten and the fact that we have had 2 fires, both times the link melted and the system did NOT go off but we had recently cleaned them both and the fires did not spread in to the ducts. Let's face it, grease burns and to quote the Guru "If you remove the fuel, the fire goes out!"
 
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RustyACE said:
I know in the state of MA, if you clean a system that is out of compliance with NFPA 96 standards and don't notify the state fire marshal in writing, you are held liable.

He then contacts the restaurant and shuts them down till they fix whatever needs fixing.

A proactive State FM makes all the difference in the world with compliance issues.

When you've got a FM who will not only back you up, but shut down the restaurant until they are compliant, then you've got some teeth.

But to blame the hood cleaner when there are so many other obvious flaws in the system, is just piling on.

Now the point I'm making ASSUMES that the hood cleaner actually cleaned the grease exhaust system. If you didn't and charged for it, then you don't have a leg to stand on.
Click to expand...


I just cleaned a "country Inn" that as part of a old military base. the military did their hoods their way( no NFPA 96) When the base was closed the Inn opened up and used their system.
The diffrence is the fire marshal has let them operate with a glavanized hood that exhausts into a wood enclosure for the fan. It is protected by a Ansul powder system that was last inspected in 1994 , that's correct 1994. and it is DISCHARGED 3 years ago. He was told 6 months ago to clean the system and get rid of the mesh filters. He contacted me and I cleaned it 2 weeks ago and got the filters. I set him up with a local fire prevention company that installs and maintains the systems. They can't even leagly re-charge the system now. The fire marshal is allowing them to operate with a discharged system for 5 more months until they can arrange for a new system to be installed. I guess there is the diffrence between fire marshalls :eek:
 
He is the AHJ-he is the word-that is the way it was written.
 
There needs to be accountability on the AHJ if they make a call like this and something bad happens.
 
You can bet your a... that anytime the government gets involved in any regulation it is a nightmare for those being regulated. For example "taxes". You have experts selling out to get themselves and the government more money. I am just a beginner in the biz compared to most but I do know that the more the govs control the less you and I will have. It does all boil down to what the judge thinks. It also boils down to the individual doing the cleaning. It doesnt matter how many government entities there are regulating the biz there will always be hacks out there. Do you and I need to pay for this even though we doing the right things?

Oh yeah, back to the question of whether we in fire prevention biz. I voted No but after reading all these post I may just stick to flatwork and building maintenance. LOL

Nam
Dirty Jobs Unlimited, LLC
256-682-4019
 
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