FACTS

1. Restaurants, cafes and other eating establishments are workplaces that are at a high risk from fire. This is due to the environment with the potential of combustibles in close proximity to hot surfaces and open flames.
2. There are many common misconceptions related to OSHA’s fire safety requirements. One is that all employers are required to have portable fire extinguishers on-site. While this is not the case in most industries, OSHA does require that if employers do choose to provide extinguishers, employees must be trained on their use. Another misconception is that OSHA requires all employers to have fixed extinguishing or automatic sprinkler systems in all workplaces.
3. OSHA stipulates that businesses should train workers regarding potential fire hazards in their workplace, and also on what procedures should be followed in the event of a fire emergency.
4. OSHA recommends that all employers have an emergency evacuation/action plan in place in case of fire—featuring safety assignments for key personnel—and requires these plans for certain industries, such as hazardous chemical processing.

STATS

• Fire extinguishers can effectively put out 80% of all fires, even if the extinguisher is classified as a portable unit. When a fire extinguisher is used on a fire in the United States, 75% of the time, the fire department is not required to attend the incident.
• In 60% of all fire incidents which occur, the fire department is never notified if a fire extinguisher is present and accessible. Almost 2 million fires are handled entirely by a fire extinguisher in the U.S. every year.
• The most popular type of fire extinguisher sold by the industry today is the Class A extinguisher, which accounts for 41.8% of total sales.
• Of the 4,401 fires reported, portable fire extinguishers successfully extinguished 4,216 fires (95%). A single fire extinguisher was used to extinguish the fire in 3,339 reported fires (72%). The most common types of fuel that were involved in these fires were Class A (47%), Class B (35%), and Class C 14%.
• 10 people have died and 19 were injured after high concentrations of carbon dioxide began to leak from the fire extinguishing system on a cargo ship.