Food for Thought
The City of Calgary Fire Department is establishing a program to inform restaurant owners and operators of fire safety measures for the periodic cleaning of commercial cooking canopy and exhaust duct systems. Commercial cooking exhaust systems if not maintained properly pose a significant fire hazard involving rapidly spreading grease fires.
The Fire Department uses the Alberta Fire Code (AFC) to regulate the activities and maintenance requirements of fire and life safety installations in buildings. The Fire Code requires all commercial cooking exhaust systems to be inspected and properly cleaned for continuous safe operation.
In addition to the cleaning requirements in the Code, a new initiative is taking place that involves the certification of persons that perform duct system cleaning. The next edition of the Fire Code will introduce a requirement to have all persons providing this service to be "qualified."
The purpose of this communication is to inform you, the owners and operators of commercial cooking establishments, about these changes and how you can recognize kitchen exhaust cleaning companies that have properly qualified personnel.
Restaurant owners or operators have the right to ask the cleaning company to show you their qualification credentials. The information they should produce is:
1. A current City of Calgary business license, and
2. Certification from International Kitchen Equipment Cleaners Association (IKECA), or
3. Certification from Pressure Washers of North America (PWNA), or
4. Certification from Applied Science Technologists & Technicians of BC (ASTTBC), or
5. Certification from Phil Ackland Kitchen Exhaust Training,
or
Companies performing the cleaning of your exhaust system may also carry and Alberta Fire Safety Association identification card that specifies they meet the qualifications of the Fire Code.
Regular cleaning of kitchen exhaust systems reduce the occurrence of duct fires by removing grease residue resulting from cooking operations. This maintenance procedure requires special knowledge in exhaust system installation and maintenance as prescribed in NFPA 96, “Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Equipment”.
It is important for owners and operators to know that the entire system that includes the fan, all of the ductwork, plenums and hoods must be cleaned in order to conform to the standard. Qualified cleaners will know this and are responsible to provide this level of service. Any company not cleaning the entire exhaust system is not in conformance with the standard and is subject to losing their business license. You as the owner will be required to obtain the services of a company that does perform the necessary work.
Restaurant owners have always been required to have duct systems inspected and cleaned by service companies. Unfortunately, Owners placed too much weight on price and not enough on quality of work. In many cases, all that was previously cleaned was the visible parts of the ducts and plenums.
WHAT RESTAURANT OWNERS SHOULD KNOW
Depending on the type and volume of cooking at a restaurant an inspection by a qualified person needs to be performed according to the following table:
NFPA Table 11.3 Schedule of Inspection for Grease Buildup
Type or Volume of Cooking Frequency Frequency
Systems serving solid fuel cooking operations Monthly
Systems serving high-volume cooking operations, such as 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, or wok cooking Quarterly
Systems serving moderate-volume cooking operations Semiannually
Systems serving low-volume cooking operations, such as churches, day camps, seasonal businesses, or senior centers Annually
Cleaning of Exhaust Systems
Exhaust systems are required to be cleaned when an inspection reveals the exhaust system is contaminated with deposits from grease-laden vapours.
The cleaning of the system is to be performed by a properly trained, qualified, and certified company or person(s) acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.
The primary focus of an inspection for cleanliness is to establish whether the volume of grease buildup within the exhaust system warrants cleaning and to determine whether adequate access is available throughout the exhaust system to remove the grease buildup.
Hoods, grease removal devices, fans, ducts, and other appurtenances should be cleaned to remove combustible contaminants to a minimum of 50 microns (0.002 in.)
NFPA 96 Standard “Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Equipment”:
3.3.37 Qualified. A competent and capable person or company that has met the requirements and training for a given field acceptable to the AHJ.
3.3.47* Trained. A person who has become proficient in performing a skill reliably and safely through instruction and practice/field experience acceptable to the AHJ.
A.3.3.47 Trained. Formal and /or technical training can be administered by the employer or a recognized training program.
If there are any questions please contact me.
Sincerely
Stan Sauvé sco
Fire Inspector 1
City of Calgary Fire Department
Cell 863 – 6875
Fax 974 – 3182
Stan.sauve@calgary.ca