Readiness check

Is your commercial kitchen grease exhaust ready for an NFPA 96 inspection?

A commercial kitchen exhaust system is fire-protection equipment, not just ventilation, because the grease it collects is the fuel a cookline flare needs to run a fire the length of the duct. Cleaning to bare metal on the right interval is the one job that keeps that fuel from building; the weld, the clearance, the wrap, and the suppression are what contain the fire if it lights anyway. Skip any one and you own the gap. This check confirms the crew has the documents, construction, and controls the guides call for before the work is signed off.

1. Is the whole grease path being cleaned to bare metal on an interval that matches the cooking volume, with stickers and service reports to prove it?Interval matches the cooking volume, the full path (hood, filters, plenum, duct through every panel, and fan) is taken to bare metal, and the current sticker and service reports are on fileCleaning happens but the interval is set by menu name rather than actual grease load, or the reports are spottyCleaning is stretched or wipes the hood and leaves the duct and fan loaded, with no current sticker or record

2. Is the grease duct welded liquid-tight steel of the correct gauge and material, sloped to drain and not weeping at any joint or panel?Continuous liquid-tight welded carbon or stainless steel, correct gauge, sloped toward a drain or the hood, no weeping seenWelded duct but flat sections that pool, or a suspect joint or panel not yet verified grease-tightScrewed, riveted, sealed, or galvanized duct, or visible grease weeping into a building cavity

3. Does the duct hold its clearance to combustibles, or is any reduction a listed wrap or rated shaft installed to its listing?Full clearance to combustibles, or a listed grease-duct wrap or fire-rated shaft installed exactly per its listing and confirmed against the building constructionReduced clearance with a wrap or enclosure present but the layers, overlaps, or rating not verified against the listingDuct run tight to framing or combustibles with no wrap and no rated shaft

4. Are cleanout access panels present at the required intervals and changes of direction, grease-tight, and actually reachable?Panels at the required spacing and at each bend, same gauge and grease-tight, all reachable and not hidden above a ceilingPanels present but some hard to reach, or one added panel not confirmed grease-tightMissing access, or panels buried above a hard ceiling so a duct section can never be cleaned

5. Is the hood a Type I grease hood with listed baffle filters in place and the grease cup emptied on a routine?Type I hood over the grease appliances, listed baffle filters seated and washed on schedule, grease cup and trough emptyType I hood but filters heavily loaded or cup overflowing, or filters washed only when someone remembersMesh filters in use, or a Type II heat-and-steam hood hung over a grease appliance

6. Is the rooftop upblast fan set up to be cleaned and its grease contained on the roof?Hinge access works, wheel and housing are clean, and the fan drains to a grease receptacle that is in place and not overflowingFan cleanable but the wheel is loading, or the receptacle is present but overfilled or missing absorbent containmentFan bolted down with no hinge access, or no grease containment so grease spreads across the roof membrane

7. Is the wet-chemical suppression system current, with every nozzle still aimed at the appliance that is actually there now?Current semi-annual tag, and each nozzle confirmed aimed at its appliance at the listed size and height, with any appliance change noted and coverage re-engineeredTag current but nozzle aim not re-checked against the present layout, or a recent appliance swap not yet verified for coverageTag expired or missing, or nozzles aimed at appliances that were moved, swapped, or grown past their rated size

8. Is makeup air provided and interlocked so the hood never runs without it, with the kitchen sitting slightly negative to the dining room rather than hard negative?Makeup air installed and interlocked to start and run with the exhaust, kitchen balanced slightly negative to the dining room and roughly neutral to outdoorsMakeup air present but not confirmed interlocked, or the balance not checked with a gauge as the duct foulsNo makeup air or too little, so the kitchen goes hard negative, the hood spills, and an appliance can backdraft