regulations, Grenfell and emerging risks, there was a seemingly out of place, detailed technical talk on kitchen fires – which went down very well indeed. The reason for this is quite straightforward: technical and run of the mill it might be, but insurers know what hurts them, and kitchen fires remain stubbornly close to the top of the list. The ability to cook is fundamental to the operation of many businesses, so associated business interruption losses can inflate many times an already high material damage figure. The risk control challenges are many, and the
RISCAuthority insight T
Dr Jim Glockling discusses BAFE’s new scheme aimed at raising standards of kitchen fire protection installations
HOSE WHO attended either of our RISCAuthority seminars last year will have noted that amongst strategic presentations on UK fire policy, building
The headline details of the scheme include: • anyone conducting any tasks associated with design, installation, commissioning, recharge or maintenance of kitchen protection systems must have been trained by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
• due to their complexities, anyone undertaking any of the aforementioned tasks must be trained to a design level of knowledge of the system by the OEM
protection industry responded appropriately with a wide range of systems and technologies that should, in theory, be capable of managing all situations. That said, failure of installed systems are too common. Issues can arise: from a poor initial appraisal of the risk and matching with appropriate extinguishing system design, through to a lack of interconnectivity with associated critical requirements, such as the need for duct cleaning and interlocking with power, ventilation and conveyancing. System malfunction, abuse, and disablement, kitchen reconfiguration and under specification will all be in the mix too. I was delighted to be asked at the start of 2017
to chair a BAFE working group seeking to create a third party scheme to raise competency standards in provision of kitchen fire protection systems. The work, completed with excellent assistance from the industry, is now complete and embodied in Fire Protection Industry Scheme SP206 – For the design, installation, commissioning, recharge & maintenance of kitchen fire protection systems. I’d like to explain why, when correctly used, it’s a very good thing for the insurance industry. Starting with the title, you will notice that the
word suppression has not been used. Whilst perhaps a particular bugbear of mine, we see many systems described as suppression that can only in fact have extinguishment as their performance objective – definitions do exist for suppression to include extinguishment, but the confusion caused is exceedingly troublesome, particularly in post loss legal dealings.
• at the point of commissioning, all systems will be proven to be appropriately connected to a building’s alarm system (anecdotally only 15% are), and the connection shall be tested annually
•
“inherited systems” must be brought on to the same rigorous regime expected of new systems without compromise
• measures will be in place to clearly evidence upkeep of the system
Whilst there are some big wins for insurers, it is equally important to discuss what SP206 cannot cover. Systems will be compromised if ductwork cleanliness is not maintained, so there is a critical requirement to ally SP206 with cleaning schemes or guidance such as LPS 1223, TR19, RC44, or LPS 2084. Similarly, whilst SP206 will ensure a system is installed and maintained properly, confirmation that its parts and design will work will require reference to a certification standard, such as UL 300, BS EN 16282-7 or LPS 1223. Detailed knowledge of test regimes will be required to determine applicability to a given situation. In summary, SP206 gives a no compromise
assurance that those conducting any job on a kitchen fire suppression system are highly trained in every detail by the OEM, and have somewhere to go for further advice in unfamiliar situations. Allied with a relevant test standard and duct cleaning regime, there is scope for the insurer to simply specify a suite of conditions that should have the best chance of bucking the trend of kitchen fire loss statistics
Dr Jim Glockling is technical director of the FPA and director of RISCAuthority
www.frmjournal.com MAY 2018 17
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