Tag Archive: Cooking Equipment

1. Deep Fried Fiascos

   August 17, 2022 7:08 pm Leave a Comment

   Why we do what we do…

   

   Smoke billows from Promenade Mall on Thursday, Aug. 4. (@theonlyrouben/Twitter)

   Several news agencies reported the August 4th 2022 rooftop fire at Promenade Mall located at Bathurst and Centre Streets in Vaughan Ontario.  The 2-alarm fire was reported around 10:30 am and shoppers were evacuated by police as the fire crews bravely fought the flames.  The mall was reopened a few hours later.  Vaughan Fire Platoon Chief, Brian Culp, told CityNews that the fire started in the kitchen of Jollibee Restaurant. Jollibee is a Filipino chain restaurant best known for its fried chicken.

   The Saskatoon Fire Department temporarily closed a Red Lobster restaurant after a deep fryer fire.  On Wednesday July 21, 2022 just after 6 p.m., the department received a report of a deep fryer on fire. The restaurant was evacuated.  Crews used a class K fire extinguisher designed for grease fires to extinguish the deep fryer flames. The department says it was brought under control at 6:17 p.m. and a fire investigator was dispatched to the scene shortly after. Damage is estimated at $20,000. None of the employees, occupants or firefighters were injured.  An investigation into the fire determined it started in a deep fryer vent due to a lack of cleaning the commercial cooking equipment. A fire suppression system for the equipment also did not activate to extinguish the fire.

   

   Fire crews cut down fire at Rudy restaurant (Courtesy: Ken Enlow)

   Toronto Fire crews investigated after a blaze broke out at a downtown restaurant on the morning of September 24, 2021.  Shortly before the lunch rush Toronto Fire was alerted about a fire at Rudy, a burger restaurant at Queen and Duncan streets. Heavy smoke could be seen billowing from the restaurant. Shortly after arriving on scene, fire crews said the main body of the blaze was knocked down. No injuries have been reported. Toronto Fire said the blaze started from the restaurant’s deep fryer. “There were employees in the restaurant and they were doing some cooking [at the time of the fire],” District Chief Brian Kelly told CP24 at the scene.

   Lives and livelihoods can be changed in an instant when grease/cooking oil combusts into fire.  Be sure your deep fryer and other cooking equipment are inspected and cleaned along with your kitchen exhaust systems in accordance with NFPA 96.  Call us for more information on the inspection frequency and cleaning requirements for your method and frequency of cooking.  Keep your staff and customers safe with regular maintenance by our professionally certified kitchen exhaust cleaning technicians.

2. Fire Closes Down Leamington Wendy’s Restaurant

   January 11, 2016 5:43 pm Leave a Comment

   Fire has caused an estimated $200,000 to the Leamington Wendy’s Restaurant in Southern Ontario. Fire crews were called to the fast food restaurant on Oak Street just after 9am on November 18, 2015.  A team of 18 firefighters were able to bring the fire under control quickly. Officials say it started with the cooking equipment in the kitchen.

   Have you had your kitchen equipment and exhaust system inspected recently?  Regular inspections and cleaning can greatly reduce the possibility of grease fires. Be sure your inspector is a certified Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning inspector like those at Pressure-Kleen Services Company.  Also ensure that your kitchen exhaust cleaning company provides detailed reports of their inspections.  Pre-cleaning and post-cleaning photos should be available for your review.

   It is imperative that any identified deficiencies are corrected before they affect the safety of your employees. Luckily, there were no reported injuries associated with the Wendy’s fire in Leamington.

   Cleaning must go beyond what you can see. It must delve into the depths of the ductwork.  An inspection between the exhaust fan on the building exterior and the hoods in the kitchen allows us to advise on the required frequency for a cleaning program.

   

   There needs to be sufficient access to the ductwork.  Fire rated access doors should be installed at each turn in the system.  This will allow your inspector to conduct a proper inspection and determine the extent of cleaning required.  The goal of cleaning is to restore the ductwork to bare metal by removing all grease build-up.   Access door installation may be required to allow cleaning to bare metal.

   

   We are authorized dealers for FlameGard access doors and hood filters. Call us for more information on our products or services.

   DISCLAIMER: Pressure-Kleen Services Company Inc. has never serviced this Wendy’s location

3. I Love Food Truck Fries, Not Food Truck Fires

   August 13, 2015 1:31 pm 2 Comments

   I remember as a young kid my dad stopping at the side of the road after hockey practise and getting us kids french fries from “the chip truck”. These hand cut chips were the best fries I ever had. Today, “Chip Trucks” or “Mobile Catering Trucks” are the new rave. Today the food truck is no longer selling just french fries, but rather gourmet meals catering to all cultural favourites from Greek kebobs to Jamaican jerk chicken to Polish pierogi and homemade Argentinian choripans.

   One wouldn’t think that a food truck out in the middle of a parking lot or at the side of the road could be dangerous, but tragically an incident changed all that. The Guelph Mercury reported that on July 6, 2015 at around 3 p.m., the Guelph Fire Department responded to a fire at Dad’s Mobile Food Service. A grease fire has caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to a south-end food truck eatery. The Guelph Fire Department’s Gary McDonald said the fire was caused by “the ignition of combustible grease products,” likely by some sort of smoker appliance.

   

   Guelph Mercury reports food truck grease fire causes $20,000 damages

   To date, NFPA 96 does not have any specific codes or standards for “Food trucks”, but that is changing. Committees and focus groups are compiling recommendations and they will be reviewed and considered for upcoming editions.

   Our professional cleaning services can prevent food truck grease fires. Ensure you get regular inspections and cleaning of your cooking equipment and exhaust hoods, if installed.  We sell hood filters if you need to replace your broken baffle filters.  We also sell disposable Safety Shield filters that can be installed over your baffle filters to prevent grease from entering your exhaust system.  Remember, your safety standards affect your customers’ safety. Call or visit us today to inquire about all our food truck cleaning services.