INTRODUCTION TO NFPA
NFPA stands for “The National Fire Prevention Association.” This association is a globally recognized non-profit organization organized in 1896 by a group of insurance companies to limit fire related losses. Today the organization is responsible for the promotion of safety education, safety standards, and trainings regarding fire and specifically kitchen hood exhaust cleaning and inspections. NFPA is also responsible for establishing and managing codes related to fire safety.
The standards set by the NFPA are adopted by the local fire inspectors and insurance companies to establish standards and codes that are meant to offer protection against fire hazards. NFPA section 96 or NFPA 96 deals specifically with commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning, inspection and maintenance.
NFPA 96
NFPA 96, a standard for cleanliness for commercial kitchens range hood cleaning and grease hoods cleaning. The outline provided by the NFPA 96 for the restaurant hood cleaning exclusively emphasize upon the frequency of the system’s professional grease removal. It also provides a guideline that pinpoints other areas that need to be cleaned and inspected by a certified company.
According to the NFPA 96 standards, the complete exhaust system of the commercial kitchen must be inspected and cleaned by a professionally trained and certified team or a company. If the inspection shows evidence of a build up of greater than 50 microns of grease-laden vapors in the kitchen hood, the hood system must be cleaned. The system, according to NFPA 96 includes the kitchen hood, filters, fans, fire suppression system, light covers, ducts, grease removal devices, and any metal surfaces.
NFPA 96 COMMERCIAL KITCHEN CLEANING GUIDELINES:
The restaurant manager or a BOH manager are personally responsible to ensure the kitchen hoods are cleaned and maintained properly. The following points are critical according to the NFPA 96 standard.
• The above-mentioned systems; fire production system and the ventilation system maintenance shall be carried out according to the NFPA 96 standards.
• Your commercial kitchen equipment must be accompanied by a proper ventilation system that works according to the standard requirements of NFPA 96.
• You also need to make sure that all the makeup system is well-maintained.
• The maintenance and cleaning of your commercial kitchen must be performed by a certified, professionally-trained company/ individual. Your kitchen staff can not clean and certify your system.
• Once cleaned the cleaning technician much provide a certificate that has a date of cleaning, a label that shows the company name of the cleaning contractor along with cleaning date, and the areas that are left un-cleaned during the process.
• A trained and certified company will not use cleaning chemicals to the fusible links during the cleaning.
• All the power switches that are at the risk of automatic activation shall be locked out before the cleaning initiates.
• The fire suppression system needs to be operational during the entire procedure according to the NFPA 96.
• Once the cleaning is done by a professionally trained team/individual, make sure all the power switches, pilot lights and other major components of the system are back to operational mode.
• Your cleaning schedule is determined by the type of food and fuel your use in cooking. Most restaurants will be on a 90 day schedule.
TAKEAWAY
The NFPA 96 standard is for your protection. Keeping your commercial kitchen hood clean and well-maintained will ensure that your staff along with your entire facility is protected against any fire-hazards but also reduces the risk of personal liability in the event of a fire or suppression event.
CITATIONS:
https://www.baremetalstandard.com/nfpa-96-fire-code-guide-what-you-should-know/
https://comkitsys.wordpress.com/nfpa-96-cleaning-guidelines/
https://greasebusters.com/fire-code-nfpa-96/
DOCS FILE:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-UQ9604dLkArciYnmftQMSvdV-gG5NtcJXbCQTy_vWw/edit?usp=sharing
0 Comments