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Preventive measures against fire in catering facilities
Regular maintenance is the best protection
The tragedy in Novi Sad and the emergency inspection control of catering facilities can lead to the closure of many catering premises, but this is the last moment to realize that life is the most valuable.
For the second year in a row, the General Association of Caterers of Belgrade and the Company Eko Dim through the campaign "Belgrade without fires in catering facilities" are trying to draw the attention of their members and partners to the importance of fire protection and to provide favorable conditions for regular maintenance of ventilation systems for air exchange in the space, and greasy kitchen ventilation as well, in order to prevent great tragedies which, besides material damage, can take away the most precious thing - life.
- It is true that business conditions are difficult, that there is a crisis, that various fees are high, but investing in regular maintenance of ventilation, kitchen and other installations is very important, although it is only one segment of fire protection in catering facilities that we are obliged to - says Nikola Dimitrijević, president of the Association of Caterers of Belgrade, and owner of the restaurant "Franš", and adds that the goal of caterers should be to do even more than required by inspections and legislation, because, unfortunately, only when a tragedy occurs, many realize that it was cheaper to invest in preventive measures.
The campaign "Belgrade without fires in catering facilities" primarily provides an opportunity for caterers to maintain systems which can cause fire under favorable conditions, and thus protect their property, but also the people who visit their facilities. In the two years that the campaign has been going on, a large number of catering facilities in Belgrade have joined the system of prevention and regular maintenance, but it is important that this number continues to increase and to have the risks reduced to a minimum.
- We do our best to be a good partner and that is why we try to provide more to caterers at a lower price and we always stand at their disposal, to do, to help and to advise - says the Director of Eko Dim, Goran Miličević. We all have the same task and we must understand that human life is the most important. When a fire breaks out - everything is too late.
There are over 3,600 catering facilities in Belgrade that represent risk points in terms of fire, which can occur from various causes, and the most common one is kitchen ventilation, but also other installations, as apparently was the case in Novi Sad. That was the reason for launching the campaign for which the official support of the Sector for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia was requested at the end of last year.
We addressed the Prevention Directorate, believing that the official support of the Sector for Emergency Situations will be a signal to caterers that fire protection and preventive maintenance measures are not a dead letter on paper, but a legal obligation which must be implemented. We received verbal support and assurances that we could work together on education in the future, in order to raise awareness of the importance of fire protection in catering facilities not only in Belgrade. Unfortunately, the official paper on partnership and support in this campaign has not arrived yet. The tragedy was faster again - says the PR of the campaign Ivona Stojanović.
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