The Future is in Sight

Phil Ackland

KEC Expert
The Future Is In Sight
Kitchen Fire Safety is taking a giant step forward.
From Phil Ackland
I just returned from the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) convention in Denver. I saw a number of old friends and met several new ones.
The IAAI is the lighting rod association of experts and organizations that deal with investigating all serious fires.
It brings the public and private investigators together. It if interest that many of the public fire investigators (those who work for the State or municipal fire departments) are also fire inspectors. The men and women who inspect commercial kitchens.
Many of you are aware of the seminars that Phil Ackland and Associates provide to fire and building inspectors and to fire investigators. In particular the seminars help inspectors appreciate the role that maintenance plays in the reduction of fires in the commercial kitchen.
Because of demand for these we have not been able to fully serve all requests. Prior to coming to Denver we put out an appeal to inspectors and investigators who have been qualified as instructors, to meet with us and discuss their learning how to deliver these seminars. At the convention we met with a number of individuals and had a very fulfilling discuss on the matter. Soon we will have a cadre of public fire officials able to provide these seminars to a much greater audience.
But as interesting as this advancement may be, one of the other upshots of the meeting was learning how some municipalities are creating an "Inspection Permit" process, that requires restaurants (or service provides) to take out a permit that requires that the maintenance work (suppression, sprinkler or exhaust cleaning) to be inspected after the service.
In particular, I met with one inspector who has successfully instituted this process in his city. The permit process has worked so well that other municipalities in the area are following suit.
Because of all the other events taking place at the convention, I was not able to fully discuss all the details of the process. But in the not too distant future we will be interviewing this person and others to learn more about the process.

Comments?

Stay tuned
 
The future is here!!!

Comment for The Future is in Sight:

Mr. Ackland,

I agree that the permit system that would require further inspection after the maintenance work is completed
on suppression, sprinkler and exhaust hood systems is a great idea. However, this still forces local fire officials to go back and conduct and additional inspection. Add this to an already overwhelming workload and you are back to fire officials not having the time needed to get everything done. I contacted you earlier this year about the SIREN System. This program would collect this information
and make it available for fire officials to review before and after photos, inspection reports etc. I think that with this system fire officials could prioritize who they need to visit and when. For instance, a location that passed all tests would take a back seat to one that was reported by a fire protection company to have safety issues or in some cases has gone past due.

SIREN establishes a timeline for service and sends an email should the location go past due. Just wanted your thoughts on how you thought SIREN could help in this endeavor. I haven't heard back from you and was very interested in this latest information.

Thanks,

A few thought of my own:

An AHJ can review one to one hundred buildings from his or her office without leaving it.
The AHJ will know before leaving the office witch building are in violation before they
leave for the day, this brings the inspections to the AHJ.

SIREN can track fire extinguishers, sprinkler, fixed fire systems and hood cleaning inspections.
Even if this program can not be used by you why not let the AHJ”S you come in contact with know
about his program and let them make the decisions for themselves if this can help them with their
everyday inspections.

One more thing to think about on permits: Permits are good for the restaruants that maintain the hood systems, what about the owners that refuse to have the hood systems cleaned on time evertime. Permits only track the good business and the good hood cleaners. Siren systems set time lines for every business, if a business refuses services the AHJ would be notified threw email.

With the Siren System there are no loop holes.

Mr.Ackland with you name your help and our program we can make the future happen



Validated Data Systems, Inc
www.SirenSystem.com
(865)453-9915
 
Last edited:
Phil,

Fairly new here, or more like hardly able to log on. After reading your thread about "Future In Sight", and seeing how you had mentioned that some cities requiring permits. I run my business out of Minnesota and i can say first hand what permits really do. Now, granted there are some cities here that are very strict, that do take the time that is needed to actually keep logs on all resturants in their city of when the last cleaning was and when the next cleaning is due...some fire inspectors go as far as calling the owner and advising them that their KEC is due or else suffer a fine and when I do a KEC in those cities, we are not permitted to roll up our equipment untill the fire inspector comes out to the site and with a 3 led flashlight literally looks the whole system over from the inner fan blades to the hard to get access panels. I think those cities and fire inspectors are great, however out of the 5 cities that require the permits only 2 cities of fire inspectors are actually doing their job. I've done jobs in all inspected cities here in Minnesota and the other 3 permit cities keep pretty good track of their resturants and when their KEC is due but HAVE never been out to the job site... I called the fire department last week in a permit city and the dispatch told me "Nah, we aren't going out, go ahead and roll up your equipment". There are those cities that just require the permit just for the fee, that are not really interested in fire prevention but just the money, but then again there are those two cities that go out of there way to inspect... "A House Cannot Stand If It Is Divided". It's very sad because I wish the whole state of Minnesota required permits and actually do the inspections...it would keep those that have no cert, insurance, bonded, or exper away from low balling the ones that actually care about fire prevention and providing a great service.

Chris, i do think you have a point when you had posted that some cities don't have the manpower to oversee all resturants...Out of the 5 cities that require permits...Minneapolis and St. Paul are not amoung them! But what i do is send an email to those Fire Marshalls in Mpls and St.Paul after my company does a KEC in those cities...that way it keeps the Fire Marshall looking good and i let the customer know that that is part of the service that way it helps a bit with business.
 
Permits Success

Dear Perfectionist

All these are good points (as are Chris') The reality is there will be no organized approach to the entire "inspection" arrangement. Every jurisdiction will come up with its own spin, and then the enforcement of same will be just as fragmented. That is the reality of our fire prevention system.

My first recommendation to you and everyone else, is to get involved with your local AHJ in what ever ways are available to you. If they have some sort of fire prevention association, join it and get involved. Learn your local Codes and be an asset.
Beyond that if you want to work with us as Ackland's Alumni (past and present Phil Ackland Certified or Trained exhaust cleaners) please feel free to contact us.

Please keep us all posted on your "adventures." All information on the progress of the fire prevention field is valuable.
 
Best soulution is to clean your systems right EVERY time and be done with it. The hacks and orgs that say they are doing something and are not will get thiers in the end.
 
Comment for The Future is in Sight:

Mr. Ackland,

I agree that the permit system that would require further inspection after the maintenance work is completed
on suppression, sprinkler and exhaust hood systems is a great idea. However, this still forces local fire officials to go back and conduct and additional inspection. Add this to an already overwhelming workload and you are back to fire officials not having the time needed to get everything done. I contacted you earlier this year about the SIREN System. This program would collect this information
and make it available for fire officials to review before and after photos, inspection reports etc. I think that with this system fire officials could prioritize who they need to visit and when. For instance, a location that passed all tests would take a back seat to one that was reported by a fire protection company to have safety issues or in some cases has gone past due.

SIREN establishes a timeline for service and sends an email should the location go past due. Just wanted your thoughts on how you thought SIREN could help in this endeavor. I haven't heard back from you and was very interested in this latest information.

Thanks,

A few thought of my own:

An AHJ can review one to one hundred buildings from his or her office without leaving it.
The AHJ will know before leaving the office witch building are in violation before they
leave for the day, this brings the inspections to the AHJ.

SIREN can track fire extinguishers, sprinkler, fixed fire systems and hood cleaning inspections.
Even if this program can not be used by you why not let the AHJ”S you come in contact with know
about his program and let them make the decisions for themselves if this can help them with their
everyday inspections.

One more thing to think about on permits: Permits are good for the restaruants that maintain the hood systems, what about the owners that refuse to have the hood systems cleaned on time evertime. Permits only track the good business and the good hood cleaners. Siren systems set time lines for every business, if a business refuses services the AHJ would be notified threw email.

With the Siren System there are no loop holes.

Mr.Ackland with you name your help and our program we can make the future happen



Validated Data Systems, Inc
www.SirenSystem.com
(865)453-9915


Jamie get to charleston
 
Daryl & Mike own all this now.....
The Future Is In Sight
Kitchen Fire Safety is taking a giant step forward.
From Phil Ackland
I just returned from the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) convention in Denver. I saw a number of old friends and met several new ones.
The IAAI is the lighting rod association of experts and organizations that deal with investigating all serious fires.
It brings the public and private investigators together. It if interest that many of the public fire investigators (those who work for the State or municipal fire departments) are also fire inspectors. The men and women who inspect commercial kitchens.
Many of you are aware of the seminars that Phil Ackland and Associates provide to fire and building inspectors and to fire investigators. In particular the seminars help inspectors appreciate the role that maintenance plays in the reduction of fires in the commercial kitchen.
Because of demand for these we have not been able to fully serve all requests. Prior to coming to Denver we put out an appeal to inspectors and investigators who have been qualified as instructors, to meet with us and discuss their learning how to deliver these seminars. At the convention we met with a number of individuals and had a very fulfilling discuss on the matter. Soon we will have a cadre of public fire officials able to provide these seminars to a much greater audience.
But as interesting as this advancement may be, one of the other upshots of the meeting was learning how some municipalities are creating an "Inspection Permit" process, that requires restaurants (or service provides) to take out a permit that requires that the maintenance work (suppression, sprinkler or exhaust cleaning) to be inspected after the service.
In particular, I met with one inspector who has successfully instituted this process in his city. The permit process has worked so well that other municipalities in the area are following suit.
Because of all the other events taking place at the convention, I was not able to fully discuss all the details of the process. But in the not too distant future we will be interviewing this person and others to learn more about the process.

Comments?

Stay tuned
 
And now five years later all KEC guys are making triple what they were then and their account base has quadrupled.

Am I right?

lol.


Good work generates good pay.


Government interference generates work for those who spend all their time and money playing the government game and can't clean worth a crap.


Why don't we ever learn?
 
Back
Top