Fire Safety in Cafés and Restaurants: Interior Considerations

Interior decisions that reduce fire risk in cafés and restaurants: escape routes, how materials burn, kitchen extraction, alarms and day-to-day discipline.

A café or restaurant brings two sources of risk together: a kitchen working with open flames and hot oil, and a dining room full of people and often full of decorative materials. Fire safety in these venues is therefore not a couple of extinguishers mounted at the end. It is part of the plan, the materials and the building services from the first sketch. Specific regulatory requirements vary with a venue’s size, capacity and the building it is in, so the design must be checked against the requirements of the competent authorities.

Escape routes are the first line of design

In a fire, what matters most is that people leave quickly and without confusion. When tables are packed more densely, circulation routes are the first casualty. If an aisle narrows when chairs are pushed back, both everyday comfort and safety suffer.

The plan should confirm that:

• there is a clear, unobstructed route to an exit from every point in the dining room;
• a second exit is provided where required;
• escape doors open in the direction of travel and are not locked during opening hours;
• decorative screens, planters or terrace furniture do not narrow escape routes;
• illuminated exit signs and emergency lighting keep working during a power cut.

Hiding an exit door behind a curtain or panel for the sake of décor is a common and serious mistake.

Materials: how the décor burns

Timber panelling, fabric wall coverings, reed ceilings, artificial plants and upholstered furniture add warmth, but they also add fire load. That does not mean giving them up. The main rule is to check a material’s fire performance on paper: public spaces call for materials that are hard to ignite or treated with fire-retardant products.

Particular attention goes to ceilings, walls along escape routes and stairwells, because flame and smoke spread fastest there. Cables running above a suspended ceiling should also be in non-combustible trunking or of a suitable cable type.

The kitchen: extraction and grease

A significant share of commercial kitchen fires is linked to grease building up in extraction hoods and ducts. Duct routes are planned as short and straight as possible, cleaning hatches are provided, and ducts are insulated where they pass combustible construction.

Canopies above cooking equipment have grease filters, and cleaning them is written into the daily routine. For kitchens with large frying equipment, whether an automatic suppression system is required should be settled at the design stage. The gas line, isolation valves and gas leak detectors are also positioned at this point.

Alarms, extinguishing equipment and electrics

Smoke detectors, the fire alarm and, where required, sprinklers are planned together with the suspended ceiling and the lighting design. If a decorative ceiling feature covers a detector or blocks a sprinkler’s spray pattern, the system exists on paper but does not work in practice.

On the electrical side, food-service venues run heavy loads: refrigerators, coffee machines, heaters. Sizing circuits to the real load, avoiding extension leads and multi-way adapters, and never using the electrical cupboard as storage are simple but vital rules.

After the fit-out: discipline and checks

Even the best design weakens when a venue is poorly run. Boxes pile up in escape routes, a fire door is wedged open, an extinguisher ends up behind furniture. Before opening, prepare a short staff briefing, an evacuation plan and a simple daily checklist.

Later décor changes need the same attention. Seasonal decorations, new fabric curtains or extra tables can undo the original design’s safety measures within weeks. Rechecking escape routes and material fire performance before any such change should become a simple habit.

Quick checklist

• There is an unobstructed route to an exit from every point in the room.
• The fire performance of décor materials is documented.
• The extraction duct has cleaning hatches.
• Detectors and sprinklers are not covered by décor.
• Electrical circuits are sized for the real load.
• Staff know the evacuation plan and where extinguishers are.

Zaferoğlu İnşaat carries out renovation and design work for food-service venues. Show us your concept early so escape routes and non-combustible finishes are built into the first interior sketch.