Following news of a severe fire in a restaurant in East London, Gary Nicholls, Managing Director of ductwork cleaning expert Swiftclean Environmental, has highlighted the importance of regular and effective ductwork cleaning in catering establishments. “Ensuring that oil and fat deposits are removed from your ductwork system isn’t just a matter of health and cleanliness,” he said. “As this unfortunate incident shows, build-ups of grease are a real fire hazard which can seriously impact your business and damage your premises. Failure to provide effective cleaning can also invalidate your insurance and leave you open to prosecution, quite apart from posing a risk of injury to staff and patrons.”
“We see incidents of this kind far too often on the London Fire Brigade website, and I am amazed that there has not yet been a death reported as a result of such a fire. When this happened in Boston US a law was passed* regarding kitchen extract cleaning and it’s high time that something similar was adopted in the UK. Do we have to wait for a death following a kitchen extract fire to see stricter enforcement of both health and safety compliance and, critically, contractor competence in kitchen extract system fire safety cleaning?”
On Friday 14 September 2012 firefighters fought for over two hours to control a blaze at a fire in a restaurant on Commercial Road in Stepney E1. As well as damage to the restaurant’s ground floor, a flat above the premises and the building’s roof, the fire appears to have spread through ductwork for the restaurant’s extract ventilation system, damaging it in the process. Twelve people left the building before the Brigade arrived but there were no reports of any injuries.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Nicholls continues, “Fire prevention is obviously a major priority in any kitchen, but ensuring it doesn’t spread through poorly cleaned and maintained extract systems should be just as high a priority for all catering outlets. We can no longer afford to play lip service to this important but all too often overlooked aspect of essential maintenance.”
Eight fire engines and around 20 firefighters from Shadwell, Kingsland, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Old Kent Road, Bow and Stratford fire stations were in attendance.
It is estimated that 25% of commercial kitchen fires are made significantly worse due to grease build up in ductwork. For this reason regular cleaning is required under the conditions of many insurance policies. Swiftclean’s video on effective fire safety ductwork cleaning explains this www.swiftclean.co.uk/video2.htm.
For more information about Swiftclean, visit www.swiftclean.co.uk
* In August of 2007, a fire in West Roxbury took the lives of two Boston Fire Fighters.
