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.

At pre-shift lineup, walk both FOH and BOH crews to the designated meeting point in the parking lot. Confirm exit-route signage, paths free of stored product or rolling racks, and the back-door panic bar unobstructed. Repeat the walk with any new hire on day one.

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.

Print and post in the manager office and at the host stand: 911, local poison control, building owner, GM cell, sous chef cell, gas company emergency line, electric company emergency line, plumbing on-call. Replace any handwritten or outdated signage.

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.

Walk servers and bartenders through Toast, Square, or Aloha offline mode: location of the manual credit-card imprinter, the cash-only protocol, manual ticket pads at the pass. The closing manager should know how to reconcile tickets once power returns.

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.

Cover the call: a tornado warning means move guests to the shelter zone immediately, including bar patrons. Servers leave checks open and bring nothing but themselves. The GM or AGM is responsible for the head count of staff and guests sheltered.

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.

Confirm the DVR or NVR holds at least 30 days of footage at all camera angles: entrance, bar, host stand, kitchen, back door, dumpster area, manager office, safe. Sign the verification log below. After a cash-drawer short or break-in, the footage is your only evidence.