Commercial Kitchen Range Hood Fire Leaves Restaurant Closed

March 10, 2021

The quick actions of staff and members of the public in extinguishing a fire in a commercial kitchen range hood at the Greenwell Point Bowling Club has been praised.

Greenwell Point Rural Fire Service captain Sam Thompson said the fire, which started in the kitchen range hood of the Chinese restaurant, was extinguished ahead of their arrival.

Emergency services were called to the Greens Road club around 1.40pm on Monday, 8 March 2021, after a Triple 0 call reporting the fire.

Club staff and patrons were evacuated according to South Coast Register.

RFS crews from Greenwell Point, Culburra, Callala, Callala Bay, West Nowra and Shoalhaven Heads were called to the scene, along with Fire and Rescue NSW Shoalhaven 440.

Fire crews carried out an inspection of the club, using thermal imaging equipment to ensure there were no other potential risks inside the building and undertook smoke ventilation activities.

The club has been given the all clear and has reopened for business, however the Chinese restaurant remains closed.

Fire statistics from Australia, the UK and the US show that fires in restaurants predominately occur in kitchens. The ignition of cooking materials accounts for almost half of all commercial kitchen fires and almost all of these (90%) get into the kitchen range hood system.

Since the exhaust fan is on, air is drawn into the kitchen range hood, moving through the filters and up the duct, pulling the flame along with it. If significant grease residue exists on the interior of the duct, this can act as fuel and spread the fire up the duct, potentially into the exhaust fan. In this case, the Greenwell Point Bowling Club’s quick actions prevented a worst-case scenario, yet the Chinese Restaurant remains closed for repairs.

Many restaurants never re-open after suffering a fire loss. Insurance policies may exclude claims related to uncleaned or grease-laden exhaust ducts. Insurers are aware of these fire risks – are you?

When hiring a kitchen exhaust cleaning company, restaurants should look at the company’s reputation and quality of work, rather than the cost. If an exhaust cleaning company provides a quote that seems too good to be true, there is a STRONG possibility that it is. The cleaning contractor you hire should be fully insured and provide “before” and “after” photos of the cleaning work.

If 100 percent of the system is not being cleaned, an owner or operator should ask for a drawing that highlights the areas being cleaned, all areas not able to be cleaned, and any improvements to access that could be made to reduce the percentage not cleaned.

Restauranteurs should also consider solutions to reduce grease build-up between cleans in order to: