How Grease Build-Up Causes Commercial Kitchen Fires
The fire risk inside your extract system — and how cleaning controls it.
Grease accumulation in extract systems is one of the leading causes of commercial kitchen fires in the UK. Here's the mechanism — and what reduces it.
Why grease is the danger
Every service, the extract system draws grease-laden vapour off the cooking line. The filters catch some; the rest condenses and hardens inside the canopy and ductwork. Over weeks this becomes a thick, highly flammable lining running through the system.
Then it only takes a flare-up at the line — fat catching in a pan, a fryer running too hot — and that flame can be pulled up into the grease-coated ductwork, where it has fuel running the length of the building. A small flare becomes a structural fire fast in a neglected system.
How cleaning controls it
Regular TR19 extract cleaning removes that fuel. Stripping the canopy, ductwork and fan back to bare metal at the right frequency keeps a flare-up at the line a flare-up — not a building fire. It's the single most effective control for extract fire risk, and exactly what your insurer and fire-risk assessor expect documented. Request a free quote across Swansea and the Gower.
Read next: After a kitchen fire: what to do · Why the duct needs access hatches
Frequently Asked Questions
Won't my suppression system handle it?
Detection and suppression help, but prevention is better — a clean system removes the fuel a fire would otherwise spread through.
How does cleaning help my fire-risk assessment?
Documented TR19 cleaning is direct evidence for the catering section of your fire-risk assessment that you're managing the grease risk.
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.