PAY YOUR INVOICE HERE

Call Us Today: (832) 880-1338

Kanela

Restaurant Fire Safety

Why Cleaning Restaurant Exhaust is Required Under Federal Law

Some restaurant owners and managers may wonder why the U.S. government requires them to periodically clean their exhaust systems. This blog post aims to answer that question with an unfortunate incident in Tulsa a few days ago.

On Monday morning, a pizza restaurant in the southern part of the city caught fire.  As of this writing, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, but pay attention to this key passage in the story:

The flames spread halfway down the building but were mainly contained to the roof and attic.

Some people may ask how a fire can start in the attic of a building, but anyone who knows how restaurant kitchens are designed understands why this can happen.  Restaurant exhaust systems pull a lot of grease from the stove upwards into the vent hood, the exhaust ducts and grease fan in the top of the building.  Like any grease, it’s flammable.  If enough of it builds up, it can be a severe fire hazard.  Hence, the federal requirement for periodic exhaust system cleaning.

In this particular case, nobody was injured, but the damage wasn’t contained to the restaurant itself.  Because the restaurant is part of a strip center, neighboring offices and stores were filled with smoke from the fire.

(To be clear, we’re not saying that the pizza restaurant in question had fallen behind on its cleaning schedule.  We have no way of knowing this for certain, and we’re not about to speculate.  We’re simply saying that restaurant exhaust systems can present a fire hazard.)

If you are a restaurant owner, don’t let this happen to you!  Give us a call today and we’ll give you an estimate on cleaning your exhaust system.

Why is Cleaning Restaurant Exhaust So Important?

Some restaurant owners may wonder why cleaning their vent hoods and keeping their exhaust ducts clean is so important.  An incident from late last week helps illustrate why.

According to the account in the Vicksburg Post, a Burger King in Mississippi caught fire and damaged the kitchen rather badly (the restaurant is closed until repairs are completed).  It started when an employee was cleaning grease from one of the stoves when the grease caught fire.  This part is worth noting:

Vicksburg Fire Chief Craig Danczyk said…the fire managed to get in the vent fan and duct work in the kitchen, adding greasy residue from the kitchen helped the fire expand into the ceiling and roof areas. Firefighters had to get on the building’s roof to get to the fire after it entered the ductwork. (emphasis added)

This is why cleaning your restaurant ventilation is so important.  All that grease from the stove doesn’t stay on the stove – some of it also gets sucked up into the ventilation system, into the ducts and onto the fan itself.  If your ventilation system isn’t cleaned regularly as required by state law,

It could have been really extensive in the case of this Burger King restaurant.  Do the math: many fast food restaurants open at 6:00 am or earlier, and don’t close until 10:00 pm or later.  That kitchen could easily have been running 16 hours per day, and maybe more.   That makes for a lot of grease getting pulled up into that ventilation system.  And as illustrated, it doesn’t take much for a grease fire to spread rapidly.

(As a side note, we aren’t saying they failed to have their ventilation system cleaned properly – the article doesn’t say one way or the other, and it would be pure speculation on our part.  We’re just saying that it’s critical to have your restaurant ventilation system cleaned regularly.)

Here’s the bottom line: a poorly cleaned restaurant ventilation system is a fire hazard.  Left unaddressed, it can cause tremendous damage and even fatalities.  If yours is in need of cleaning, we can help!  Contact us today for a quote.

Restaurant Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Services: Before & After

In the course of our work as a kitchen exhaust cleaning company in the greater Houston area, we see plenty of restaurants in need of proper cleaning.  We visited a bar and restaurant in the area that was clearly in need of cleaning help.

Kitchen Exhaust Duct Cleaning in Houston

This duct was clearly due for a regular cleaning. When our crews were finished, this is what the owners found when they next opened for business.

Kitchen Exhaust Duct Cleaning Services in Houston TX

We are proud of the level of services we provide. After doing this now for more than a decade, we have no problem saying we’re one of the leading companies of our kind in the Houston area. If you need cleaning work done, contact us for a quote.

Pennsylvania Restaurant Catches Fire…on the Roof?

A Pennsylvania restaurant had some bad luck late last week when a fire broke out.  What seems really unusual in this case: “We’re told the fire was on the roof of the building.”

Readers of this space know that it’s not out of the ordinary for a restaurant to catch fire above the kitchen, or even on the roof, due to grease fans.  We explained this last week.  (As a side note, we are not saying that the restaurant in question was lax in its cleaning standards – we have no way of knowing this for certain.  We’re just saying that a restaurant grease fan can present a fire hazard, nothing more.)

Federal law mandates that restaurants regularly clean their exhaust systems to protect against fire.  And many insurance companies will revoke coverage for restaurants that don’t perform this regular maintenance.  Don’t jeopardize your investment!  Contact us today for a quote.

How Can a Fire Start on the Roof of a Restaurant?

Some people may wonder how a restaurant fire can start on the roof rather than in the kitchen.  Here’s a quick explanation.

Obviously, any kitchen can present a fire risk.  You’re dealing with lots of heat, open flames (especially if you have a gas stove), and plenty of flammable substances.  But while a home kitchen is only in use occasionally, a restaurant kitchen can be in use 12 or more hours per day, presenting lots of opportunities for danger.

Because these kitchens get so much use, they have much more extensive ventilation systems than residential kitchens, including much larger vent hoods and bigger ducts.  They also have big fans in the ceiling to pull fumes upward and out through vents in the roof.  These fans also end up pulling up small molecules of grease from the kitchen, which collect on the fan over time. Like pretty much any grease, it’s highly flammable, meaning those grease fans can become fire hazards if they’re not frequently cleaned.

As a Houston-area restaurant exhaust system cleaning provider, we see a lot of fans in need of proper cleaning.  Here’s a before and after picture to give you some idea of how dirty these fans can get.

Restaurant Grease Fan Before and After Cleaning

As you can tell from the picture on the left, these fans can get really covered with grease, making them fire hazards.  This is why federal law mandates that restaurant exhaust systems get cleaned regularly as a fire prevention measure.  Restaurants that don’t have this work done regularly can be in violation of the law, and can also put their fire insurance at risk.

So there you have it: tremendous levels of use and lots of flammable substances in a relatively small area.

Why Do Restaurant Exhaust Systems Need to Be Cleaned Regularly?

Some people may ask why restaurant kitchen exhaust systems need regular cleaning.  This recent news story helps illustrate why.  A fire broke out in a Portland, Oregon restaurant over the weekend.  This one sentence says it all:

Fire crews arrived to find flames inside the restaurant’s ventilation system.

We’re not going to speculate as to whether or not the restaurant in question had fallen behind in keeping their exhaust systems cleaned.  But this is why such cleaning is required by federal law.  Restaurant kitchens are in operation for as much as 12 hours a day, seven days a week.  They deal with flammable materials and give off lots of fumes and heat.  Those fumes can carry grease upward, onto the vent hood and into the exhaust ducts.  Give it enough time, and you have a fire waiting to happen.

In this case, there were no injuries.  But this restaurant could be out of commission for weeks or longer, and the cost for repairs can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.  Keep your restaurant and people safe – contact us today to get that exhaust system cleaned.