We’ve all heard it, seen it, and hope that we never have to experience it. That’s the headline news of the local restaurant that went up in flames. Everything was a total loss, and they are probably facing a lawsuit. That’s why Kansas City Hood Cleaning Pros want to make commercial kitchen fire prevention easier.

If you’ve been in the restaurant business for a while, the fact that grease build up is a fire hazard may not be any news to you. But to the newbies out there, here’s your sign! Grease build up is a major fire hazard! Check our About us page for more information.

How does the buildup of grease put your restaurant at risk for fire?

Let’s start by explaining the purpose of your kitchen exhaust system. The purpose is to filter out grease from smoke and to prevent such material from flooding into your dining areas. If you did much frying in your restaurant and failed to install a kitchen exhaust system, you’d have a smoke filled restaurant and probably no customers.

Now, when grease and smoke come in contact and it becomes hot enough, it will ignite. So your hood system, which filters out both, is constantly accumulating grease. The more grease that builds up, the easier ignition becomes. Not only does grease create blockages and imbalanced exhaust fans, but it also can become hot very quickly.

So let’s say you neglected your hood system for far too long. You start up the fryer and begin the night’s work. Oops, you burn a few fries. Some smoke is sucked up into the super-hot and greasy hood system. Bam. Ignition. You have yourself a fire before you can even begin to guess what could have happened.

A grease fire isn’t your typical fire

If you talk to any fire marshal who has ever dealt with a grease fire, they might tell you it was one of the more complicated fires they’ve dealt with. A grease fire spreads extremely fast. Why? Because when grease is hot, it becomes liquid. Liquid splashes everywhere and therefore ignites everything it touches. For that reason, water cannot be applied to a grease fire.

Sometimes, if the grease fire is small enough, baking soda can be applied. However, if you have a fire you should always call the fire department for help.

The best way to prevent a restaurant grease fire is by cleaning and maintaining your exhaust hood system. Period. Grease accumulation is the risk. If you minimize the amount of grease that builds up, you minimize your fire risks.