A S CATERING SUPPLIES

The problem
A grease-extraction ventilation system draws grease-laden air directly from the areas above cookers, grills and fryers, via the cooker hood, and vents it to the atmosphere. While the filters in the canopy are designed to trap grease particles, some pass through into the extraction system, coating the inside of the ductwork, the fan and exhaust with flammable deposits.

These grease deposits are easily ignited by even a small flash fire on the cooker, hob or grill, and flames and heat can then quickly spread through the building, causing substantial damage and endangering lives.

Cleaning of the grease-extraction system is frequently overlooked, often because the ducting runs behind false ceilings or walls and, therefore, tends to be in areas that no one feels responsible for.

In fact, almost one-quarter of the accidental fires in non-domestic buildings each year are attributed to cooking appliances and, in the past decade, fires in grease-extraction ducts linked to catering facilities have caused considerable damage.

The law
Sweeping changes made to fire safety legislation by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, places responsibility for preparing fire-risk assessments, and notifying building occupants of the identified risks, squarely on the shoulders of a designated "responsible person".

This could be an in-house or outsourced manager, or any person deemed to be in control of all, or part of, the premises. In many cases, this could be the catering manager, who, particularly if employed by a contract caterer, would thus be responsible for preparing a fire-risk assessment specific to the catering unit.

Grease vapours produced by the cooking operation and accumulating in the canopies, filters and grease extraction ductwork will present a fire hazard - an ignition source, in the eyes of this legislation. The catering manager will thus have a responsibility not only to his catering staff but to the building occupants in general to ensure that the fire hazard is removed either by remedial action or through regular maintenance and cleaning.

The Solution.

Obviously regular cleaning of the entire extraction and ducting infrastructure but the frequency of this can be reduced by the effectiveness of the filters employed.

So, it is essential to ensure that the filters fitted

• trap as much of the grease as possible
• are of a design that prevents any flash fire from reaching the ducting  system
• are easily removed for regular cleaning.
• are easily cleaned.

AS Catering Supplies Ltd can supply either standard or custom sized quality filters to meet these needs.

Follow this link to see details of our filters

Just give us a ring on 01425 632800 to discuss.