Understanding NFPA 96 Standards

The National Fire Protection Association NFPA 96 has been establishing the standards for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Equipment since 1946.  It provides the minimum fire safety requirements (preventative and operative) related to the design, installation, operation, inspection and maintenance of all public and private cooking operations. (NFPA 96, 1.1)

We take our responsibility seriously when it comes to inspecting, cleaning and documenting our kitchen exhaust system services.  We educate our staff with the most current codes and guidelines listed in NFPA 96 and we want our customers to be educated as well.  The following table shows the inspection frequency for different cooking types.

Kitchen Exhaust System Inspection Schedule   Excerpt from NFPA 96 11.4
Systems serving solid fuel cooking operations	MONTHLY
Systems serving high-volume cooking operations, such as 24-hour cooking, charbroiling or wok cooking	QUARTERLY
Systems serving moderate-volume cooking operations	SEMI-ANNUALLY
Systems serving low-volume cooking, such as churches, day camps, seasonal businesses or senior centres	ANNUALLY

11.6.1 Cleaning of Exhaust Systems

If, upon inspection, the exhaust system is found to be contaminated with deposits from grease-laden vapors, the contaminated portions of the exhaust system shall be cleaned by a properly trained, qualified, and certified person(s) acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.

Don’t let some fly-by-night cleaning company leave you at risk of fire and liability.  Choose a company with technicians qualified educated in NFPA 96 standards and more than 50 years of expertise in kitchen exhaust cleaning.