Does a Fire Risk Assessment Cover the Kitchen Extract System?
What the Fire Safety Order expects of the ‘responsible person’, what the assessor asks for, and how Mid and West Wales Fire Service audits food businesses.
It should, and if yours does not mention the extract system it is incomplete. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the person in control of a commercial premises the "responsible person", obliged to assess fire risk and control it. In a commercial kitchen, grease in the extract system is the most predictable ignition and spread route in the building, so a competent assessment names it.
What the assessment should say about extraction
- That a commercial extract system exists, where it runs and where it discharges.
- That grease build-up is a recognised hazard, controlled by cleaning to a recognised standard (TR19) at an interval set by usage.
- Evidence: the date of the last clean, the certificate reference, and the next-service date.
- Whether the duct passes through other rooms, floors or a roof void — that is the spread route, and it changes the risk rating.
What the fire service looks for
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service runs a business fire safety audit programme and can inspect any non-domestic premises. Food businesses are a priority group. An auditor will ask to see the fire risk assessment and the evidence behind it, and a greasy duct with no certificate is an easy enforcement notice. In serious cases the service can prohibit use of the kitchen until it is dealt with.
Sleeping accommodation raises the bar
Hotels, guesthouses, holiday parks, care homes and pubs with rooms are assessed to a higher standard because people sleep above the kitchen. For these premises the extract cleaning record is not a nice-to-have in the assessment; it is one of the controls the assessor will check first.
The insurer reads the same document
After a kitchen fire, the loss adjuster asks for the fire risk assessment and the cleaning records together. An assessment that identified the extract hazard and a certificate showing it was controlled is the strongest position a claim can be in. An assessment that never mentioned extraction is a gift to the insurer.
What to keep on file
The current fire risk assessment; the last TR19 certificate with photographs and grease readings; the next-service date; and, if you have one, the inspection report from when you took over the premises. If you also need the assessment itself done, we can point you to a fire-risk partner — but the extract cleaning is what we arrange. Request a quote.
Related: Hotels & guesthouses · Care homes · Insurance records and fire claims
Read next: After a kitchen fire: the first week
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the responsible person for fire safety in a restaurant?
Whoever has control of the premises — usually the owner or the business operating from it, and in a leased kitchen normally the tenant. The duty is under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Does the fire service inspect kitchens in Swansea?
Yes. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service audits non-domestic premises and treats food businesses as a priority. They will ask for the fire risk assessment and the evidence behind it, including extract cleaning records.
Is TR19 a legal requirement?
Not by name. The legal duty is to assess and control fire risk; TR19 is the recognised standard by which insurers and assessors judge whether the extract hazard is controlled.
Get a Free Swansea Kitchen Extract Cleaning Quote
Send us your kitchen details and we'll arrange a tailored, no-obligation quote — usually the same day.