ray363•3d ago

My backup prep station caught fire mid-service last Friday

I had this old cutting board setup on a prep table near the stove that I'd been using for like 3 years. Never thought much about it until last Friday during the dinner rush when a grease fire popped up from the flat top. The heat melted the plastic catch bin under the board and it went up in maybe 30 seconds. I grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and blasted it, but now my whole line smells like burnt plastic and chemicals. The board itself is warped and useless. Took me an hour to scrub everything down after close. Any other kitchen guys had a random piece of equipment fail on them in a scary way like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

tara_jones942d ago

Swap to a metal drip tray under your cutting boards. Learned that one the hard way too.

chen.casey2d ago

That melted plastic smell is no joke, sticks around for weeks. Something that saved my butt in a similar spot was putting a small heat shield between my prep area and the hot line. I grabbed one of those cheap aluminum hotel pans and cut it down to size with tin snips, slid it right between the cutting board and the flat top. Cost me maybe a buck fifty and it deflects all that radiant heat away. The plastic drip tray is still the weak point, but now it has a fighting chance. Might be worth looking into where your hot spots are radiating from and just throwing a barrier there.

evan_burns952d ago

We did that too until a cook melted a plastic cutting board right onto the griddle.