Safety & Security Updates
Fire & Safety Scams
Over the past several years, there have been individuals “scamming” clients of reputable fire and safety companies. They steal tags from certified fire extinguishers and then represent themselves as employees of the fire and safety company printed on the tag. The impostors always ask for cash payment when finished with their “work” and sometimes take away fire extinguishers they say “need recharging”.
City Wide Fire Equipment protects its clients from these “scammers” in the
following manner:
- City Wide employees all carry valid photo identification and are wearing City Wide uniforms.
- City Wide does not make service calls without advance notification to the client.
- City Wide clients with established accounts sign a City Wide work order and make payment on account as established.
- City Wide clients without established accounts will be notified in advance that payment of Visa, Mastercard, Discover, business check, personal check, money order or cash will be accepted at completion of service. An official City Wide paid invoice will be provided at that time.
It is the ultimate responsibility of each business owner or property manager to take precautions against these crimes. Please inform all employees to be diligent in verifying the credentials of each service person that enters your facility. If the credentials aren’t enough for you, please feel free to contact us to verify any inconsistencies.
Incorrect application for K Class Wet Chemical Fire Extinguishers
K Class Wet Chemical Fire Extinguishers are meant to supplement existing UL300 automatic kitchen fire suppressions systems with appliance shutoff. Recently, insurance companies have been requiring some businesses that do not have automatic kitchen fire suppression systems to install K Class Wet Chemical Fire Extinguishers.
Without appliance shutoff and the fire suppression capabilities of a pre-engineered automatic system, using a K Class Wet Chemical Fire Extinguisher can be dangerous. The fire rating of this extinguisher does not provide enough capability to act as a stand-alone solution in the event of a kitchen fire – especially without automatic appliance shutoff. Also, in kitchens with electrical appliances and no automatic appliance shutoff, the K Class Wet Chemical Fire Extinguisher, since it contains a water-based chemical, may conduct dangerous electrical current to the user – potentially causing injury or death.
City Wide recommends, in this case, installing a complete Amerex KP Pre-engineered Automatic Fire Suppression System with a K Class Wet Chemical Portable Fire Extinguisher.