A Cautionary Tale about Commercial Kitchen Exhaust System Maintenance

Did you hear about the fire that occurred a couple of weeks ago at Porkie’s Restaurant at 130 1^st Ave, Silvis. Firefighters responded to a call at 4:41am and it was extinguished at 5am – but not before it caused about $50,000 of damage (yikes!). What’s most important is that no one was injured. Owner/manager Roger Pulford was in the building when the fire erupted. He tried to put the fire out himself but wasn’t able to do so before firefighters arrived at the scene. Reportedly, the fire started in the kitchen and was most likely associated with an exhaust fan. The restaurant is now closed until further notice pending water and smoke cleanup and an insurance company review.

What a devastating accident! It goes to show that making sure your entire commercial kitchen exhaust system is properly cleaned and maintained can save many thousands of dollars. Making sure the maintenance of your exhaust system remains a top priority is absolutely worthwhile. And let’s not forget, this accident could have been much worse – someone could have been hurt or perhaps even killed. Kitchen fires are extremely dangerous and they can be hard to put out without professional help.

Prevent a kitchen fire from erupting at your restaurant by partnering with Flue Steam today. We provide complete commercial kitchen air control and fire prevention services throughout Southern California. Sign up for one or more of our services and you’ll have so much peace of mind knowing that your commercial kitchen is safe and secure. Services we offer include:

• Complete kitchen exhaust system cleaning (hand scraping and steam cleaning of fans, hoods, and ducts)
• Grease filter exchange service
• Swamp cooler maintenance
• Exhaust fan maintenance
• Automatic fire suppression system service
• Portable fire extinguisher sales and service

Exhaust system cleaning

Making sure your commercial kitchen exhaust system is cleaned regularly is important to avoid flash fires and keep you in line with essential governmental regulations. Kitchen exhaust systems remove hot air and odors from your kitchen and eliminate vaporized grease that’s a natural byproduct of cooking, especially in a commercial setting. Dirty exhaust systems aren’t as effective at removing grease, so many make sure yours is cleaned at regular intervals to minimize your risk of flash fires within your exhaust ducts. As we saw from what happened at the Silvis Porkie’s Restaurant, failing to take care of your exhaust system can be incredibly costly. Not only will you have to call the fire department to put the fire out, but you’ll have to deal with thousands of dollars of damage to your equipment, and the revenue lost from having to close your restaurant to make repairs. Don’t risk a huge interruption to your business – partner with Flue Steam today!

We’d be happy to handle all your commercial kitchen exhaust system needs. Simply give us a call at 800-700-FLUE and we’ll discuss your commercial kitchen’s needs and arrange for cleaning services at convenient, regular intervals.