A particular key to fire safety changes is the importance of the fire risk assessment (FRA), one organisation has looked at the FRA's in the kitchen environment; Indepth Hygiene. They are concerned that the "responsible person" maybe completely unaware of what the Fire Risk Assessment process requires and therefore may choose to hire an accredited consultant who will have special knowledge of fire safety and what is involved with the FRA. It must be remembered that the responsibility still remains with the "responsible person" and cannot be put solely in response to a third party. Indepth Hygiene have argued that with regards to working within a kitchen, a contract catering manager would be seen as the responsible person because he/she would have main control in the kitchen. There needs to be good communication between the organisation and the responsible person i.e. the contract caterer needs to make all those in the kitchen aware of possible slippery areas and/or places that could be a potential fire risk.

The kitchen and cooking equipment used are definitely a potential source of a fire; according to Alan Norman from Indepth Hygiene; "cookers have naked flames, fryers have boiling oil, grills and griddles flames and sparks. But most significant of all in terms of fire risk is the grease extract ducting linked to the kitchen beyond the kitchen canopies, so often overlooked because it is out of sight behind walls and ceilings". A report by Marty Ahrens, manager of NFPA Fire Analysis Service found that the leading cause of a fire in the kitchen was due to unattended cooking and the use of oil and build up of grease within cooking equipment; "when cooking equipment is described as a cause, it means that cooking equipment provided the heat that started the fire, not that the equipment malfunctioned. More cooking equipment fires are caused by human error than malfunction" www.nfpa.org

What do Indepth Hygiene mean by grease extract and their grease extract system?

"A grease extract ventilation system draws grease laden air directly from the areas above cookers, grills and fryers via the cooker hood and out to the atmosphere. Whilst the filters usually found above the fryers are designed to trap grease particles, some pass through into the extract system coating the inside of the ductwork, fan and the exhaust with potentially flammable deposits. These grease deposits are easily ignited by even a small flash fire on or in the fryer, hob or grill and flames and heat can then quickly spread through the building, causing substantial damage and endangering lives"

(Richard Norman, Managing Director of Indepth Hygiene Services)

It is estimated that as many as "90% of the kitchen extract ducts remain uncleaned in the UK" (Richard Norman Indepth Hygiene), therefore it is up to the responsible person or perhaps facilities manager in this case, to make sure the building is functioning efficiently and safely. Also they would have to make sure that catering staff are made aware of such fire risks in the assessment brief. Many contract caterers are now making sure that the kitchen has a complete FRA regularly and the grease extract system is used. Indepth Hygiene does offer to carry out, free of charge, surveys on kitchens and provide your organisation with all the fire safety information your need. Their one piece of advice for safety in the kitchen would be to make sure the staff "clean the systems according to the usage of the catering facility" (Richard Norman, Indepth Hygiene).

Go back »