Restaurant Emergency Procedures Checklist

Walk the line and pull every extinguisher: Class K behind the fryer and flat top, ABC at the host stand and the back hallway. Check the inspection tag for a current annual certification from a fire-marshal-approved service company. NFPA 10 requires the annual external inspection plus monthly visual checks logged on the tag.

Call your fire-protection vendor for any extinguisher missing the current annual tag or showing damaged or discharged condition. Operating without current certification is a citable violation on health-and-fire inspection.

The hood suppression system needs a semi-annual inspection by a licensed fire-protection contractor per NFPA 96. Verify the inspection tag, fusible links, nozzles aimed at fryer/grill/flat top, and the gas-shutoff linkage. A failed test means the kitchen cannot operate on open flame until serviced.

Contact your ANSUL-certified service vendor. The line stays closed for cooking on open flame until the system is tagged operational. Block out the affected stations on tomorrow's schedule and reduce the menu to non-fire prep.

Burn-gel packets and finger cots run out fast on a hot line. Restock to the par sheet: burn gel, finger cots, gauze, nitrile gloves, eye wash, instant cold pack. Replace anything past the printed expiration date.

Pull the EpiPen Jr. and adult pens from the manager office and the AED from the FOH station. Record expiration dates below; EpiPens typically run 18-24 months from manufacture, and AED pads and batteries follow separate schedules. Set a calendar reminder 30 days before the earliest expiry.

Run a 10-minute drill at pre-shift: Heimlich for a conscious choking guest, modified abdominal thrusts for a pregnant or obese guest, chest thrusts as the alternate. Confirm at least one CPR-certified staff member is on every shift; many jurisdictions require the alcohol-serving manager to hold a current cert.

Press the test button on each illuminated exit sign and emergency egress light fixture. Per NFPA 101, batteries must hold the light for 90 minutes. Note any that flicker or fail and replace the battery pack before the next dinner service.

Two LED flashlights with fresh batteries at the host stand, two on the kitchen pass, one at the bar well, one in the manager office. Tape spare AA or AAA batteries to each station. Outages during dinner service strand guests in the dark within seconds.

Pull the past 14 days of temperature logs from the walk-in cooler (must be at or below 41°F) and the freezer (at or below 0°F). Record today's reading below. If an outage hits, the log is your defense that TCS foods were held safe before the event.

Verify the weather-alert radio in the manager office is battery-tested and tuned to the local NWS frequency. Sign the manager phone up for county emergency alerts (tornado, flash flood, hurricane warning) via the local CodeRED or Everbridge system.

For tornadoes, the safe area is an interior room with no exterior windows — typically the back-of-house dry storage, the walk-in vestibule, or an interior restroom. Post laminated 'Severe Weather Shelter' signs along the path and brief hosts on guest routing.

Six gallons of bottled water, two cases of granola bars, two flashlights, a weather radio, basic first-aid, and a manager copy of the staff roster with emergency contacts. Stored in dry storage on a labeled shelf. Rotate water and food annually.

Press the panic buttons under the host stand, manager office, and safe room with the alarm company on a scheduled test. Confirm response time and that the call routes to local PD, not just a dispatch center. Update the alarm-company call list if managers have rotated.

Cover the rule with closing staff: comply, do not resist, hand over cash from the drawer and safe, do not chase or pursue after exit. Note the suspect's clothing, voice, and exit direction silently for the police report. The safe-drop schedule should keep the drawer under $200 in cash on hand.