Page 30 - Climate Control News magazine February 2023

Indoor Air Quality
Guide to kitchen exhaust systems
THEAUSTRALIANINSTITUTEofRefrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has released a free best-practice guide for operating commercial kitchen exhaust systems.
Developed by AIRAH’s Kitchen Exhaust Special Technical Group (STG), the Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Management Best Practice Guide is freely available from the AIRAH website.
The guide highlights the fire risks associated with commercial kitchen exhaust systems, and provides strategies for minimising these risks.
AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson, said the specialist guide is a vital aid for practitioners and addresses a major safety issue for all building occupants.
“One of the most common places for a fire to occur in a building is in a kitchen,” he said.
“This is particularly true for restaurants and commercial kitchens, where most fires start at the cooking surface and spread into the kitchen exhaust hood ventilation system.
“When a fire enters a kitchen exhaust system it can escalate and spread rapidly due to the accumulation of grease and other debris.
“Indeed, grease is definitely the word when it comes to escalation of kitchen exhaust fires.”
This was the case in 2014, when the renowned Stokehouse restaurant in Melbourne burnt down. According to Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Management Best Practice Guide editor Vince Aherne, maintenance contractors and health and safety assessors regularly relate kitchen
exhaust horror stories.
“The systems have been either installed
incorrectly or have been compromised since installation,” Aherne said.
“They do not comply with minimum safety standards, or have not been maintained – resulting in years of grease accumulation and high fire and health risks. A so-called accident waiting to happen.
“It is clear that many in the commercial kitchen industry do not fully appreciate the
LEFT: Risks are still not understood.
importance and risks of kitchen exhaust maintenance.”
Chair of the Commercial Kitchen Exhaust STG Graeme Williamson, said the guide seeks to address industry knowledge gaps.
“A number of stakeholders in the industry acknowledged the shortcomings of the Australian Standards in relation to commercial kitchen exhausts, and importantly the risks associated with these systems are not well understood,” he said.
“They decided to do something about it and with the support of AIRAH formed a Special Technical Group. The STG researched overseas standards to assist in defining what a best- practice approach should look like, resulting in the creation of this guide.”
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