Kitchen fire risks

Kitchens are obviously at risk of fire, but according to the Kent Fire & Rescue Service’s website, “70 per cent of fires in commercial kitchens originate in faulty extract ventilation systems due to build-up of fat and grease".

Why the risk?

Kitchen extraction systems do a great job of removing smoke and grease, but it has to go somewhere. Some can be expelled, but a proportion gets stuck in the ducts and filters of the system and stays there.

Since an extraction system can heat up, especially if deposits are preventing it from working at peak efficiency, grease provides an obvious flash-point. And, if it drips through faults in the ducts, the danger areas are expanded. Leading ventilation system supplier and installer Filtrex recommends that all kitchen extraction systems should be professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

Kitchen fires

Commercial kitchen extraction systems come on all scales, from units for the kitchen of a small café or takeaway to complexes covering the food court of a shopping centre. A fire that takes hold in the ductwork can spread quickly through the whole system, especially if all the ducts are coated with flammable grease.

This means the fire won’t just be confined to the kitchen. The ductwork is often routed right through the building, and the fire can engulf it all, as in the case of the Brighton restaurant highlighted by Modern Building Services magazine.

The consequences

Besides being a legal obligation, it’s an insurance requirement for anyone responsible for a commercial kitchen extraction system to take all reasonable action to reduce the fire risk. If a fire results from cleaning being ignored or done at a substandard level, this is likely to invalidate the insurance policy.

More seriously, the owner could be prosecuted, resulting in a fine or a prison sentence. It would almost certainly mean losing your business. And, if the fire should result in fatalities, the owner could be liable for a charge of corporate manslaughter.

The solution

To avoid this, you need a proactive cleaning programme for your kitchen extraction system. It must receive a thorough professional cleaning at least once a year, or  every three months if it’s used heavily. In addition, the filters should be taken out, cleaned and replaced daily by a competent maintenance officer.

If in doubt as to how often your system needs to be cleaned, you can ask your supplier, the local fire service, or an expert company such as Filtrex Environmental.

www.filtrex.co.uk