PLACENTIA, LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — Everyone is on the “going green” bandwagon, making the recent release of a study titled “Environmental Impact of Automatic Fire Sprinklers” timely.

Massoud Farazandeh, general manager of Nationwide Fire Protection Corp., a Placentia and San Francisco, fire protection company, said he hopes that this study will appeal to owners of older restaurants and commercial dining facilities who have been “grandfathered in” and lack adequate fire suppression systems and convince them that now is the time to make these important upgrades.

The March 2010 study was released by FM Global, a property insurance company that conducts property loss prevention research. It is the result of ongoing global efforts to reduce life cycle carbon emissions and improve sustainability, according to the report, which The Fire Sprinkler Initiative, a project of the National Fire Protection Association, recently posted on its website .

The report points out that in all buildings, from offices to restaurants and other high hazard facilities, the lack of automatic fire sprinklers increases carbon emissions over the life cycle of the building. It also stated that the benefits gained from energy efficient appliances and green construction can be canceled out by just one fire. This is caused by various greenhouse gases that are the result of burning combustible materials.

“Besides being required by law in new construction, it’s nice to see that fire suppression systems can do more than just protect life and property in the event of a fire,” said Farazandeh. “They also promote the ever-popular ‘green’ theme.”

Although the published study was conducted relative to residential dwellings, the results help give some insight into commercial structure fires as well, Farazandeh said. Fire tests conducted during the study found that using automatic fire sprinklers reduced the “peak heat release rate” from 13,200 kW to 300 kW and reduced the total energy generated by a factor of 76.

When sprinklers were present, the fraction of flammable materials burned was less than three percent, compared to the test in which no sprinklers were present, where as much as 95 percent of flammable materials burned.

Farazandeh said that he frequently advises restaurant owners and managers of older restaurants without suppression systems to consider the company’s fire protection services.

“It’s not uncommon for us to be on a hood cleaning call and discover that an older restaurant has no fire suppression system in place,” said the San Francisco sprinkler fire system expert.

Sometimes the owner or manager will say that the business can’t afford to install the system.

“Every time, I tell them that they likely can’t afford not to install it,” Farazandeh said. “Few businesses can afford the down-time involved with getting a facility repaired and back in operating condition after a significant fire.”

And due to the various cooking processes used and the volume of food cooked in many American restaurants and commercial kitchens, fires are a serious issue. Between 2000 and 2004, fire departments across the United States answered calls for an estimated average of 8,520 fires in restaurants and drinking establishments, according to information provided by NFPA. Fires in restaurants and cafeterias outnumbers fires in bars and nightclubs by a ratio of nearly 7-to-1.

Food, confined cooking fires and other cooking materials, were the cause of approximately half of those fires.

Importance of Routine Testing

A system is only as good as its last test, said Farazandeh. His Placentia and San Francisco fire sprinkler systems company tests customers’ systems twice annually- a legal requirement- to ensure they remain in good working condition.

“Because the concept of going green is so popular today, we hope that if people in the position to make these types of decisions for older facilities won’t have systems installed for routine safety purposes, that we can appeal to their environmentally conscious side and convince them to do so, said the San Francisco, CA fire suppression system professional.

Learn More
If you are in need of a company to handle your fire protection needs or you want more information about Nationwide Fire Protection Corp., call (800) 750-7055, or visit the company’s Web site: http://www.nationwidefireprotection.com.

About Nationwide Fire Protection Corp.
Chief Executive Officer Massoud Farazandeh founded Nationwide Fire Protection Corp. in 1989 and grew the business into a national leader in fire protection and hood cleaning of restaurants and facilities. In August 2009, he opened a satellite location in Placentia, CA. The company’s comprehensive service offerings enable businesses to do what they do best, which is to focus on their customers and their business. In turn, NFP focuses on what it knows best- keeping businesses in compliance and ensuring the safety of restaurants, staff and patrons.
NFP prides itself on providing exemplary service, offers a quality guarantee and maintains a dependable and highly qualified staff. All crew members are professionally trained to comply with the http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=96 National Fire Prevention Association Standards and state and local codes.
Nationwide Fire Protection is fully insured and bonded. It is licensed in fire protection contracting in addition to our licensure in the mechanical and electrical fields.

© 2010 First page of Google guaranteed company master Google and Nationwide Fire Protection Corp. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

-end-