Every restaurant owner should know fire code guidelines for their commercial kitchen, especially when it comes to their exhaust system (range hoods). If these are not properly cleaned and inspected on a regular basis, this can result in a serious fire, damaging your entire kitchen and restaurant. If you do not know your state’s commercial kitchen fire codes, just read below (click on the link at the end of the summary to read about it in more detail).

System Approach:

The smoke, grease, steam, heat, fumes and odors in a kitchen must be captured, exhausted or removed. Exhaust hood systems must be designed as part of the general facility ventilation system to allow the complete system to provide the right ventilation and climate control while not interfering with exhaust smoke, grease, heat, fumes and odors.

Hoods Needed:

Grease removing exhaust hoods need to be installed in conjunction with commercial cooking equipment that create grease as specified with the State Fire Prevention Code.

Cooking equipment that needs a grease hood includes: grilles, fryers, char broilers, ovens used to cook fatty foods and solid fuel cooking equipment.

Items that can be used without a grease hood include: closed ovens and conveyor pizza ovens.

To determine if an equipment requires a grease removing hood the following factors must be considered: equipment size, size of room, design of overall ventilation system, amount of equipment use, cross-contamination potential from grease condensate and advice from the State Fire Marshal or local fire authority.

Vent hoods must be installed in conjunction with food equipment that create steam. heat or fumes that can be removed in a sage and sanitary manner. This includes: high temperature ovens not cooking fatty foods or creating grease, steam kettles and ware washing machines using hot water.

https://harfordcountyhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Maryland-Ventilation-Criteria.pdf