PLACENTIA AND STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – Each time a fire breaks out in a restaurant, it provides an opportunity to educate our customers and other restaurant owners on how important maintaining a regular hood cleaning regimen is for preventing fire from spreading if it breaks out.

Two Oct. 13 fires in North Hollywood and San Luis Obispo serve as such reminders.

The attic of a Denny’s restaurant in San Luis Obispo caught fire Oct. 13, causing roof and electrical wiring damage, according to KVEC news. Earlier that day, a former sandwich shop in a strip mall caught fire, according to the Daily News in Los Angeles.

Although the causes of these fires were under investigation, they still offer a cautionary tale about keeping grease buildup out of a restaurant’s kitchen hood exhaust fan and other portions of a hood system, says Massoud Farazandeh, CEO of American Professional Services (APS-Hoods), a Placentia and Stockton hood sales and cleaning company. Doing so helps eliminate fuel in the event of a fire.

“Keeping your restaurant on a regular cleaning schedule goes a long way toward keeping a fire from spreading, should it break out,” says Farazandeh, a hood installation expert.

For example, if something cooking on a stove catches on fire and the flames reach the hood systemabove, they could cause built up grease in the hood to catch. If grease has been left to accumulate throughout the hood and duct system, the fire could travel to wherever the grease is and potentially cause extensive damage.

The frequency of hood cleaning depends upon the type and volume of food cooked, as well as the cooking processes used, he says. Every restaurant hood system should be cleaned twice annually.

If you’re eating establishment has deep fat fryers and/or charbroilers in use, you ought to have your system cleaned every three months at a minimum. Monthly cleanings are recommended if your restaurant uses smokehouses or wood fires. If you have a restaurant that uses high volumes of vegetable oils in the cooking process, plan to have your system cleaned every three months.

“cleaning is particularly important for facilities that cook with vegetable oils because the grease buildup that results from those cooking processes becomes like glue if not removed regularly,” Farazandeh says. “When that substance becomes glue-like, removing it is a difficult task, which could result in a heftier cleaning bill.”

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