Oh my oh my

[max_rob]

I got a call from the State Fire Marshalls service on friday, and to my surprise they wanted my advice on how to go about making sure pw companies are actually doing thier job. I was quite surprised, but I suggested a form that the company fills out, and submits to thier office. The form would consist of the resturant info, and cleaning notes, as well as a before and after pic. In Nebraska, it is required that the fire extinguisher system be inspected after each cleaning. So I have made a deal with them to inspect the system, and then submit thier report to the fire marshalls office. I told the fire marshall that these two reports could then be put together for each resturant, and they would know for sure if the resturant was properly cleaned. This reduces the work load for running around for him. I also suggested a database that would hold this information, and the companies could email him the information and it could be imported into the database. The inspector liked this idea, but wanted to know if a state certification would help, and I told him that though I thought it was a good idea, the problem doesn't seem to be knowing how to do it, but rather making sure it gets done. I told him that certificate is great for letting people know that you have the knowledge to do the job, but it doesn't gurantee that you will do the job right. I also suggested that all the pw companies be required to register with the fire marshalls office so that they know who is operating. With this registration, I told them that it would be great, if the company had to provide proof of insurance. So what do you all think about all of this.

 

[RJTravel]

Terrible. Every additional layer of authority/control has the potential to create enormous problems.
Richard

 

[Grant]

"Every additional layer of authority/control has the potential to create enormous problems" and weed out the riff raff and make this world a better place for legitimate service companies that are doing what they are paid for!

 

[kmjt1021]

I can't get a Fire Marshal to give me the time of day, and I don't have time to go chasing them around anymore, I extended the olive branch several times to inspectors in different municipalities and was greeted with a chain saw almost every time. One even accused me of trying to use him to get more work.
My experience with them usually only furthers my belief that most of them don't even know what to look for. I got a call a couple of years ago from one of my customers saying that the grease pan on the side of the grill had caught on fire and one of his employees called the fire department even though he had it out before they arrived. We had just cleaned it two days prior, the exhaust system was not involved in the fire, and it was limited to the grill itself. To make a long story short they cleaned everything up but the inspector would not let them open because he said the exhaust was full of grease and needed to be cleaned. They naturally called me since we were just there. I went out and the manager and I went to the roof pulled both fans and opened the one access panel and could not find the grease he was talking about, so we called him. Waited 3 hours for him to come back only for him to look at it and say yeah that looks good, I can't believe you got out here and cleaned it that fast. The manager went berserk on the guy, I thought he was going to push him off the roof. He had lost his breakfast and lunch rushes because the inspector as he so eloquently explained" any time there is an incident that involve the fire department it is standard practice to make them have the system professionally cleaned before they open. I have a few more stories not as absurd but none the less left us shaking our heads.
So yeah I would love to have some meaningful interaction with some inspectors.

 

[max_rob]

well i tell ya what

I was really surprised to get a call from them, but then again I did go last monday and talk to the health department. Maybe they decided I had a legit complaint. But who knows, I am happy that the inspectors are getting involved, it will weed out the riff raff that has been going on for years around here.