FIRE SAFETY
Neglectproperductcleaning and upkeep at yourperil
Jonathan Brennan, Chair of the National Association of Air Duct Specialists UK (NAADUK), and part-owner of Specialist Hygiene Services, and Peter Reid, the Association’s President, who founded dedicated ventilation and air hygiene services company, Overclean, in 1981, explain how a better understanding of cleaning and maintaining ductwork can improve the design of ventilation systems and reduce fire risk.
How can we all work together to make buildings safer, and how can a better understanding of cleaning and maintaining ductwork improve the design of ventilation systems and reduce fire risk? Ductwork ventilation systems can present a considerable fire hazard in kitchens, as they accumulate grease and other contaminants. Good design, that enables regular cleaning and maintenance, can reduce these risks. The National Association of Air Duct Specialists UK (NAADUK) recognises that there is a need to have joined-up thinking on how to prevent fire risks – from design to maintenance. NAADUK’s aim is simple: to talk to, and work with, surveyors, manufacturers, designers, installers, maintainers, fabricators, fire prevention associations, fire brigades, and environmental health authorities, to solve such problems together. Ductwork contaminated by grease and other substances can contribute to kitchen fires if poorly cleaned and maintained. These put at risk the lives not only of staff and the public, but also the fire crews who must tackle them. Although at the time of writing there has yet to be a loss of human life through such fires, damage to, or destruction of, property has become a considerable expense for the courts and the insurance profession. The aim of this article is thus to consider how we make ductwork accessible for cleaning and maintenance, and hence make it fire- safe for all. This article includes information on regulatory requirements for inspecting and cleaning ductwork
Regulatory requirements NAADUK recognises that guidance is required for people to understand that there are regulations already in place to ensure fire safety. However, it is quite common to find that many building owners, facility managers, or even designers, are not fully aware what is required to be in place for ductwork maintenance. In April 2004, the European Parliament introduced regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the general hygiene of foodstuffs, with which food business
A link on a fire damper cable tied.
operators must comply to protect consumers. These rules took effect on 1 January 2006, and, in the case of UK law, became enforceable by environmental health officers, leading to kitchen shutdowns and fines over fire safety concerns in some cases.
Annex II, chapter 1, paragraph 5 of the regulation states: ‘There must be suitable and sufficient means of natural or mechanical ventilation. Mechanical airflow from a contaminated area to a clean area must be avoided. Ventilation systems must be so constructed as to enable filters and other parts requiring cleaning or replacement to be readily accessible.’ Since ductwork is a component part of a kitchen ventilation system, it falls under the regulation’s requirements – and hence, under paragraph 5, ‘Filters and other parts of the system must be accessible either directly or through access panels.’ This regulation thus has potentially far- reaching consequences for the design, construction, and installation, of kitchen grease extraction ductwork, because it has to enable maintenance and cleaning. There has yet to be a loss of human life from kitchen duct fires, but damage to, or destruction of, property has become a considerable expense for the courts and the insurance profession.
Accessibility considerations When assessing whether ductwork is accessible for cleaning and maintenance, it is important to consider the following: n Can all access panels be removed by an operative without being obstructed?
n Can an operative access all panels using either a stepladder or tower?
n Fabrications such as fan or attenuator housings, supports, and lighting tray conduits, along with fans themselves and other in-line components, should not need to be moved to enable access. Other applicable regulations include the following:
n The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, requiring the appointment of a responsible person to assess fire risk and consideration of the methods of prevention. A grease extract ductwork system should be included in this assessment, identifying risk, hazards, and control measures to ensure protection and the prevention of fire risk.
n BS9999:2017 Annexe W, which states ‘Arrangements should be made for all fire dampers to be tested by a competent person on completion of installation and at regular intervals not exceeding 12 months, and to be repaired or replaced immediately if found to be faulty’.
March 2021 Health Estate Journal 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
