The high volume of covers produced from busy commercial kitchens often means that high levels of oil and grease are being produced, significantly increasing the risk of fire. There are ways to reduce grease in ductwork but some restarurants don’t consider this and it can have considerable imact on business.
Unfortunately this proved to be the case for a Chinese restaurant in Sydney this week, when a fat fire prompted the Australian city’s busy Central Business District to be shut down.
The blaze started in the kitchen of the Emperor’s Choice Chinese restaurant and quickly spread to the roof, fuelled by a flammable, greasy sludge inside the ductwork. City workers and pedestrians had to flee in panic as the flames roared up the side of the eight-storey office block, while burning fat and grease fell from above.
Firefighters said that the large amounts of oil and grease that had collected in the kitchen of the restaurant had fuelled the fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Ian Krimmer said:
“The fire’s occurred in a downstairs area in a restaurant and has travelled up the chimney, or the flue, up the outside and onto the roof,”
“(The kitchen) had a lot of fat products in it. It has produced a lot of flame, a lot of thick black smoke,”
At Plasma Clean we know that the fire risk associated with grease build up in kitchen ventilation systems is considerable, putting people nearby at serious risk of injury. We also know that when a suitable grease control provision is implemented, the risk can be significantly reduced.
For this reason, Plasma Clean have developed the Coil Filter, a canopy mounted filter, which effectively collects oil and grease, helping to ensure kitchen extract ducts are kept clean. The reduction in grease build up means less duct cleans, less disruption and by collecting grease and oil at the canopy stage, the fire risk is consequently reduced.
Thankfully no one was hurt in the Sydney blaze, however the fire and water damage is expected to run up a huge bill for the restaurant, potentially costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars. The closure will also have a significant impact on the restaurants revenue and its employees while it recovers.
This recent example demonstrates just how costly grease fires can be to a commercial kitchen, however by implementing the correct equipment, it is possible to dramatically reduce the risk of a grease fire before it takes hold.
By utilising Plasma Clean’s cutting edge solutions to combat kitchen grease and oil, your commercial kitchen should never have to worry about a grease fire.
If you would like more information about any of our products and services, then feel free to contact us to discuss your options.
