Fire suppression installation gone wrong

Here is what we recently found on a job site. Funny thing that this was just cleaned by a National Vendor with the Manager of that company recently visiting and inspecting the site with no mention of this to the engineer. This case was an access plate for the hood chamber. It was installed several years ago. They are having all of the Ansul pipes and nozzles moved and properly reinstalled immediately now that they are aware. KEC companies MUST notify the facility they are at when these type of issues are found. This not only is illegal as access plates must have proper clearances per NFPA96, it makes the ductwork and hood areas difficult or impossible to access.  Plus, notice that the only thing holding the plates on are the screws. Of course, when we did finally access the hood chamber to inspect, you can see in the following 2 pictures inside the ductwork that it had not been cleaned in years (as expected).

Southern MN Grease exhaust inspection seminar.

I will be performing the kitchen exhaust seminar for the Southern MN Fire inspectors and related code officials. This program is great educational material for Building inspectors, Fire inspectors, Health Inspectors, and Restaurant management and owners. It goes through how quickly grease fires spread, where they start, effective ways to properly inspect systems to verify the cleanings are getting done properly, construction  and design aspects of grease exhaust vent systems, updates for the newest NFPA96 and IKECA C-10 standards, and other aspects of grease exhaust systems. The seminar will be at the Owatonna, MN Fire Department @ 107 W. Main on Feb 6th at 10AM. It will be between 1 1/2-2 hours in length. I will be available afterwards for questions.  For more information on attendance requirements, you may contact Marlin Kath with the city of Owatonna Fire Department. Phone #507-444-2454.

2013 Utah Fire Training Seminar

Thank you to everyone who attended the Grease Exhaust system seminar at the Utah Winter Fire Training School last Friday. Oliver Moore, JR from the Utah State Fire Marshall's office was wonderful and in my opinion, the most gracious host I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I had a great time presenting, teaching, and meeting everyone.  I look forward to working with both Mr Moore and the state of Utah in the future.  Thanks also go to Jack Grace for taking time out of his busy schedule to present the section on the new IKECA ANSI 10 standard. Jack is Chief Operating Partner at Western Commercial Services in Las Vegas and current president of IKECA. The room was extremely full due to the unanticipated demand.  We will work at getting a larger room next time.  The audience was very diverse from various Inspectors, Fire Marshals, KEC vendors, Fire fighters, and even the private sector. They were a great audience with many excellent questions and observations that they shared. I hope everyone came away with a greater appreciation for what these grease fires can do and how important a proper inspection and cleaning program is. I look forward to presenting for future seminars. Next on the public list is for the Southern MN Fire Inspectors at the Fire Department offices in Owatonna, MN on Feb 6th. In addition, there are several additional private seminars for Restaurant Industry Management teams Later this month. Feel free to contact me anytime if you wish additional information for my seminars for AHJ's, Kitchen Exhaust Vendors, or Restaurants in your area or to simply set one up.

Trust and integrity or lack of it.

A contract is not worth anything if there is no follow up. This is a good example. Numerous locations of a chain of stores in one area of the country were inspected to check on current conditions. The head of the National KEC vendor who is cleaning them became very upset that the company who is also a competitor is taking pictures of his KEC jobs. He traveled to this area around Christmas time to deal with the issue and promises that this is an exception and that it would never happen again. He states that he was on top of the cleanings and personally checking the jobs. Right after he returns back to his home office, his crews clean up several jobs including the one shown here. I have seen this company's jobs for many years and this is the norm. I picked this job as it was a newer location(only a year or so old so it is not too bad yet),had access, was easy to clean,  so there should be no excuse not to get it clean. These systems were just cleaned on the night of Dec 30th.  Imagine after a few years of this neglect. As you can see, the access plates in the horizontals were never removed and there are clear lines where the cleaning stopped. You can also see what was left on the back of the fan blades. This is a good location as it looked very clean at first glance.  I will show first the pictures of the clean areas that were the easiest to see, then what it really looks like further into the system. As normal, I had to eliminate some pictures to protect the name of the guilty.  This is why we are trying to assist restaurant managers, facilities departments,  and owners that not only do they need to get strong language in the contracts, but  that they MUST follow up. The facilities department for this location receives pictures every time it is cleaned and do have strong language in their contracts. Even with that, here is how the job was left. I guess these companies never learn.  May of us are trying to put trust and integrity into KEC services.  These National companies (and many unscrupulous local and regional companies also) are destroying trust and integrity for ill gotten profit alone (and sometimes just sure laziness)! The KEC vendors low bid the jobs and as you can see, these kind of KEC companies have no intention of actually cleaning the entire systems or sometimes the owners of these companies simply do not want to know as long as they get the jobs and get their money.  I wonder sometimes if these same KEC vendors have a clue how dangerous and catastrophic grease fires are.

Looking from below at an angle. 

                                      Looking down from roof looks perfect on both systems!

And the fan intakes also both look good. 

HOWEVER........... Lets look past what you can see

from above and below using our monopod. 

                                      
                                            Looking up the vertical from the hood you can see
                                            where the cleaning stopped.

and this is inside the horizontal above the ceiling.

Remember that this was just cleaned!   

                                            And looking up the other side that has little use
                             

                                              The back of the fan blades look far different
                                                                  than the intake side

                                       
                                            And using a camera monopod from the roof, we
                                            can see what was around the corner AND the access
                                            plate that was not used.

                                                  Upside down from camera pole into horiz.

                                                The back of the other fan blades, even
                                                         with little use, it was left dirty

Here is the access plate from the outside. They must not

have recognized it as an access plate. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all. It has been a very exciting 2012 and I look forward to an even better 2013. For 2013, I have been elected to the IKECA Board of Directors. Thank you to all that voted for me. I will work hard for everyone in the organization including those who did not. I am hoping to make a bigger difference in the organization and in the way KEC is done world wide. Apathy for the exhaust system getting properly cleaned is simply a matter of ignorance on how dangerous the situations improper cleanings present and what the minimum standard is. All combustable material, IE: grease and burnt on grease removed every cleaning. Working closely with both your AHJ's and also the restaurant staff themselves can help open everyone's eyes on how proper cleanings are not only safer, but they also can reduce maintenance costs for the exhaust fans and the exhaust systems along with potential health benefits. Properly trained and certified KEC staff can find many issues and deficiencies with the exhaust systems before they become a bigger, more dangerous, and costlier issue. Grease leaking out of ducts attract pests and can go rancid. Fans shaking from uneven or thick grease buildup can ruin a perfectly good fan. Rooftop grease can cause tens of thousands of dollars when the acids in the grease compromise the roofing material. Grease and chemicals in the storm water from fly by night cleaners pollute our water ways and even our drinking water. Plugged filters cause the air quality in the facilities that can cause health concerns. And that is not even mentioning the grease buildup leading to potential catastrophic fires that burn at over 1700-2000 degrees!   Just imagine if it was one of our's or anyone else's loved ones are injured or killed in a major grease fire that could have easily been prevented.  We all have the power to make catastrophic grease fires pretty much a thing of the past. Think of the many areas with residential units close to the restaurants or even connected to them that are becoming more commonplace. Cleaning to less than the minimum standard or  using the cope out of cleaning only "Accessible Areas" that many KEC vendors use can no longer be acceptable. All area must be made accessible for all exhaust systems. There is no excuse not to. I am also working on a white paper with recommended contract language(see previous posts) that puts money behind whatever guarantees that the KEC vendors give. If they do not not clean to the minimum standard of ALL grease and combustable material removed INCLUDING CARBONIZED GREASE BUILDUP, (2 microns is pretty much the same as bare metal to me and everyone else as it is unmeasurable), they will be monetarily responsible for whatever cleanup costs are required to bring he system into compliance. I have seen many systems requiring thousands  and even tens of thousand of dollars of initial cleanup that are 100 percent the result of the KEC vendors not removing all of the grease every time and letting it build up over the years. With the new digital cameras, we now have ways to see the entire system. We also need to crack down on the fraudulent pictures many are sending their customers showing their systems cleaned but carefully avoiding the areas they did not clean. If any area was not cleaned, the job is not done and there should not be a hood certification sticker applied. Every single job I have seen shortcut (WITH AND WITHOUT PROPER ACCESS) had a hood sticker stating it was cleaned to NFPA96 standards and some with a hood sticker that it was cleaned to IKECA standards. No where in those standards does it say you can skip or miss areas that require it and are accessible. That is simply fraud when it is not left free of grease and carbon. The companies and crews involved with this fraud should be treated as criminals if it becomes the norm for those KEC companies and crews. Unfortunately,  I have just completed numerous inspections in the past couple of months where apathy definitely exists and will comment along with showing the pictures. As I saw the cleanings and talked to the facilities and management staff, it was almost depressing listening to the attitude of cost above all else and again the apathy for the proper exhaust system cleanings when they could clearly see where the just completed kitchen exhaust cleaning had stopped. We still have a long ways to go.  However, I did just have some great conversations with some large concepts moving toward national inspections and proper KEC requirements. Those conversations gave us hope that at least we are moving in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns. of suggestions for all of us moving forward. I will be posting more this week and hope to see a good crowd in Utah for the Winter Fire School program on Grease Ducts that I am presenting on Friday.  -Don

*The class is on Friday the 11th. You will need to sign up for both morning and afternoon sessions. Some California IKECA members are already signing up and coming to the presentation as well as some of the Las Vegas KEC members.  Located an hour and a half north of Vegas. Here is the link

 http://www.uvu.edu/ufra/training/winterfireschool.html

Burger King grease exhaust vent fire total loss -Belvidere IL

Burger King Fire in Belvidere (from WIFR.com)

BELVIDERE (WIFR) -- The Belvidere Burger King off U.S. 20 that went up in flames last night could soon be demolished. Owners and community members say they are devastated by the loss.

It's an odd combination, shattered glass, creamer and tomatoes, but that's what covers the ground at the Belvidere Burger King. Boards now cover the holes where windows were destroyed during Tuesday night's fire, a blaze that sparked in the kitchen. "It’s a catastrophe," said customer Jackie Day. Day has lived near the Burger King for ten years, and would go to the restaurant almost every day. In fact, she was at BK about a half hour before the fire started.

"Next thing I know, I got a telephone call, I just brought some hamburgers back and my friend left and she called me and said Burger King was on fire and I said 'What?,” said Day.

Denise Turner says she's shocked. Her son used to work at Burger King.

25 people worked at the Belvidere Burger King, some of whom ran this drive thru, but we're told most of them will likely get jobs at other Stateline Burger Kings.

The contractor boarding up, is the same company that built this facility, that started as a Hardy's back in 1986.

"It's devastating that's for sure and it seems like it went down fast,” said Rusty Puhl, owner of Midwest Construction

There's concern that the roof could collapse, which means that more of it could come down.

Construction crews are now fencing off the area and once they get word from the insurance company they will tear down what's left.

The owner says they would like to rebuild, especially since the other Burger King in Belvidere closed a few years ago. They say they'll have to see what happens.

UPDATE (WIFR) -- The dinner crowd at the Belvidere Burger King had to run to safetyTuesday night after a fire started in the kitchen and spread to building's roof.
The fire broke out around 6:30pm on Tuesday evening. Employees say there were about 8 people working at the time and about 5 people in the dining room, with a couple cars in the drive thru. Everyone got out safely, but the flames spread quickly from the kitchen's exhaust vents and across the attic. The building will probably be a total loss.
"We initially made an attack interior to the vents over the stoves and were unsuccessful in putting the fire out and it spread through the attic pretty quickly and we had to go defensively at the time," says Belvidere Fire Chief David Worrell.
Around ten different departments were on scene to put out the flames. Fire fighters say they had a hard time finding water; one of the hydrants they tried didn't work and water pressure is low in the area near the Burger King. Investigators aren’t sure yet just what sparked the fire.

Pictures - Copyright 2012 Shane Smith - www.shanesmithphotography.net

Grease Troughs- Extreme danger area that is easy to check

One of the most dangerous areas in the hood system is the grease trough. The function of a properly working hood trough is to convey the grease that is draining out of the grease filters to a collection devise at the low end of the trough. Although many things can go wrong in the proper functioning of the trough, we will focus on the most common issues. Lack of proper regular in house maintenance and improper cleanings form the KEC vendors. As you can see in the picture below, the is a facility with wok style cooking. Although the ductwork is not in bad shape, the grease trough is overflowing. With the close direct proximity to the cooking equipment, excess grease can easily overflow into the ignition source causing a fire or the fires from the wok cooking (or broilers, fryer stacks,  and other sources) can simply ignite the grease in the trough. This particular case has old grease under the fresh liquid grease that is blocking the exit path. This area needs to be properly cleaned and the exit to the grease catch pan opened up for easy flow. When cleaning the filters, the trough should be wipe down at the same time as grease can coagulate when it cools down overnight. In the case below, it was from negligent (improper) cleanings form the kitchen exhaust cleaning (KEC)vendor. What made it worse if the the store did not even have the grease catch pans in the hoods as everything was so plugged up, it never made it that far and was dripping over the front edge of the hood. This is a reminder that the restaurant staff need to check the troughs are free of blockages every time the filters are cleaned . The filters need to be done daily for wok style and other heavy grease style cooking. They must be kept clean as they are the first defense in case of a grease fire in the equipment below.  The grease catch pans should be filling up with grease when working properly. 

 Inside of the full grease trough showing the thick liquid grease. Not showing is the old thick grease underneath.

The grease of a improperly maintained hood grease trough dripping over the front

State of Utah Winter Fire School-2013 Update

Our Utah seminar will be an all day presentation from 8AM-4PM with a lunch break in the middle. My previous post has the incorrect date. The new date for the seminar is now Jan. 11, 2013 at 8:00AM at the  Dixie Convention Center St George, Utah. It will focus on all aspects of grease exhaust systems from quality control programs,  inspections, maintenance, cleanings, design, new technologies, and construction. We will concentrate on the NFPA96 standard along with sections from the IFC and also the new IKECA C-10 ANSI standard. Hope to see everyone there. For more information and/or for registration information, Please feel free to contact
Oliver Moore 
Deputy State Fire Marshal 
5272 South College Drive, Suite 302 
Murray, Utah 84123

Office: 801-284-6349

Fax: 801-284-6351
Email: omoore@utah.gov

IKECA Technical Seminars. Code official training, Indy here we come.

Hi All,
Hope to see everyone in Indy this week. I will be arriving Tuesday night (Tonight) I will be presenting for all of the Building Code officials on Thursday from 1Pm till 4PM. As I rarely run out of things to say, they added an hour onto the program. to make it a 3 hour presentation. That works perfect as my standard seminars for MN are 3 hours long. I added a few new things into the seminar along with some new technologies and of course more stories on some of the intelligent and not so intelligent things and statements I run into in the field and on the phone. Everyone at the technical seminars are invited to the code official training as I have not only good information for inspectors, but much of what I go over pertains to quality control, proper exhaust cleanings, and proper setups on exhaust systems that is good information to know. Plus I have both money and damage saving tips for KEC vendors. We are all after the same thing, public safety so I hope to see everyone attend.  These training seminars are designed to educate toward that end. Wednesday morning, the IKECA ANSI standards committee is meeting. We love to have an audience to witness first hand how standards are done. I look forward so seeing everyone at the standards committee also. There will be much to learn at the IKECA meetings so I am looking forward to seeing y'all there.
Don

Kitchen Exhaust Picture fraud? How unscrupulous KEC vendors hide the truth.

One needs to make sure you get complete pictures of the entire system from above AND from below including both sides of fan blades. the filter trough for the entire length, and behind the upper filter rails including the connection of the bottom of the riser from the hood. You MUST make sure the picture are not taken at angles that avoids areas.  Make sure that the pictures show all sides of the duct and that subsequent pictures show all areas. In the following, the KEC vendor has been fooling the FM for years. They have been sending pictures regularly and what is sent looks good. Here is an example of pictures showing only the clean areas and what the job really looks like with all areas shown. I see this often from both the large national vendors who make a practice of decipt and from even the smaller vendors. Once must be very proactive careful,  and diligent on what they are looking at. It is best to have your own pictures to compare to. (Baseline pictures) You need to also look at the places with your own eyes at least every 12-18 months depending on concept and grease volume. 

Here are the pictures looking down from the roof where 

everything appears to be clean. 

And looking into the fan in the next two pictures, all

looks well and very clean.

 

And looking up the stack on one system does 

not look bad. 

However, when we start looking closer

at the Main systems from below....... 

You can see clearly where the scrape marks stopped from

the roof area on one system 

And in the hood, the behind the filters have old thick

buildup right above where there is the best chance 

of a fire 

And in the other main system, you can clearly

see where the scraping stops when the 

picture was taken looking up from the hood.

These are the biggest fire danger areas!!  

Even the fan blades have old burnt on buildup. Both of

the main fans were shaking badly. Here is why!! 

Government Contract Accountability and low bid results

Looking into the back of the fan blades, we can clearly see where 

the cleaning was done and where it was not done. 

Looking into the steam system hood, it is very clean. 
In this system, there should be almost no buildup
 as there is little or no grease production here. 

However, we take a picture into the ductwork above the hood 
and see the only area their pressure washer or scraper reached 

was the small clean patch on the lower left of the picture. 

This amount of grease appears to be years of accumulation 
as there are only  steamers under this hood and ductwork. 

Another picture looking toward the right shows that none of this
 duct has been cleaned in a very long time.

 Note the access plate in the background is not being used. 

Direct Drive fans VS Belt Driven Fans on Grease Exhaust Systems

These are my and my Blower Balancing and Repair divisional manager's opinions from our combined 72 years of experience in the field. We are against installing direct drive fans on the Type 1 grease exhaust systems as we think they have limited longevity and more expensive and time consuming repair issues compared to belt driven fans. On the direct drive fans, all of the fan stress, vibration, wear, and tear are completely on the smaller motor bearings. The belt driven fans have the larger pillow block bearings with fan belts that not only absorb much of the stress, but allow easier changes in fan speeds and parts when needed in the future. On the maintenance side, the motors are far easier to source and replace on a belt driven fan when they fail. The same with the bearings.  On the direct drive fans, the blades have to be removed from the fan motor shaft to replace the motor which involves completely disassembling the fan. That is not always an easy proposition and sometimes the motors have to be cut off and the shaft pieces driven off the blade housing. The is not an issue with belt driven fans. The only positive I see on direct drive fans is that they do not require normal PM service. I also have recommended to some that stores with the direct drive fans carry a spare fan motor to avoid any sourcing issues. 

One of the reasons this can up again is that a concept is currently going through excessive shutdown time at several different locations from direct drive fan motor failures. These fans are several years old now and the wear and tear failures are starting to show up. 2 were from bearings and the others were from electrical issues (storms or brown outs).  None of the repairs have been less than $500 each so far plus the down time and attempts to get the specialty motors out to them. On another different concept, the direct drive fans actually had to be completely replaced the next day as it was faster than waiting 3 days for the motors to be sourced. We just want restaurants and installers to be proactive on this to avoid loss of business and expensive repairs.