EmergencyCompliance
Grease Fire in the Duct or Hood
A grease fire in your exhaust duct is a serious safety event. The kitchen must be inspected and the duct system professionally cleaned before you can reopen.
Urgency
Emergency
Service area
Southern California
Dispatch
Same day
First steps before the BohPro arrives
Do this now
Stop all cooking immediately, evacuate staff, and call 911 if the fire is not fully suppressed. Do not reopen the kitchen or restart equipment until a licensed hood cleaning company has inspected and cleaned the full duct system and your fire suppression contractor has inspected, reset, and certified the suppression system. Contact Boh now to dispatch vetted hood cleaning and suppression service providers to your location.
The root causes and what they cost you
Cause
What’s causing it
Grease fires in ducts and hoods result from accumulated grease deposits that ignite when exposed to high heat or open flame. The most common cause is infrequent or incomplete hood cleaning, leaving thick grease buildup on duct walls, baffles, and filters. High-volume cooking operations, heavy use of fryers or open flames, and skipped cleaning cycles accelerate buildup significantly. A suppression system that was not properly serviced or had its nozzles blocked by grease can also fail to contain the initial ignition.
If you wait
What happens if you wait
An uncontrolled grease fire inside a duct can travel the length of the exhaust system and spread into concealed ceiling spaces, turning a contained event into a structural fire. Your kitchen is out of service until a certified inspector clears the duct system and your suppression system is reset and re-inspected. Insurance claims may be denied if cleaning logs show the system was not maintained on schedule. Repeated fire events without documented corrective action can result in permanent closure orders from the fire marshal.
Compliance risk if you wait
NFPA 96 requires that a commercial kitchen not resume operations after a duct fire until the exhaust system has been inspected and cleaned by a certified contractor and all suppression system components have been inspected and restored to service.
Symptoms you might see
firegreaseductemergencysuppression
One dispatch, one licensed tech, one paper trail
Boh routes a vetted, licensed provider to your kitchen. Every visit is documented with before-and-after photos, a service report, and a compliance certificate when the work touches a code class. You never chase a vendor.
Want it scheduled, not reacted to? See Kitchen Coverage plans →
Often seen alongside this one
Fire Suppression System Went OffCited for Grease Buildup at Health InspectionHood Cleaning Tag Expired or MissingHood Fan Making Noise or Vibrating
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