Maintaining fire safety in a commercial kitchen is non-negotiable for any restaurant owner. NFPA 96 is the key fire code standard that outlines how to keep kitchens safe, and a big part of that is regular Hood Cleaning. Grease-laden hoods and ducts are a major fire hazard, so sticking to NFPA 96 and local rules (like FDNY regulations in New York City) is critical to avoid dangerous grease fires and costly fines. In this guide, we break down everything you need to know – from understanding what NFPA 96 requires, to comparing top exhaust systems like Captive Aire Hood and Accurex Hoods, to why Greenheck fans are so popular. We’ll also show how professional services such as Done Right Hood and Fire Safety help keep your kitchen compliant and safe from fire. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap to NFPA 96 compliance through proper hood cleaning, using quality equipment, and following best practices in fire prevention.

Understanding NFPA 96 and Its Importance

NFPA 96 is the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations. Essentially, NFPA 96 provides preventive and operative fire safety requirements for commercial kitchens​. This standard covers everything from how exhaust hoods should be designed and installed, to how often they must be cleaned and inspected. The goal is to reduce the risk of fires by controlling grease buildup and ensuring proper fire suppression is in place. Under NFPA 96, commercial cooking ventilation systems (including the hood, ducts, fans, and filters) must be built and maintained to prevent the accumulation of grease. The standard specifies that hoods and ductwork should be made of steel, have proper clearances from combustibles, and include fire suppression systems such as automatic sprinklers or chemical suppressants​.

Regular inspections and testing of the system are also mandated to catch any issues before they lead to a fire​.

In short, NFPA 96 is the blueprint for keeping kitchen exhaust systems safe and effective. Importantly, NFPA 96 also provides guidelines on cleaning frequency based on your cooking operations. For example, high-volume restaurants and those using solid fuel (like wood or charcoal) may need monthly or quarterly hood cleaning, whereas low-volume operations might get by with semi-annual or annual cleanings​.

Adhering to these schedules is not just a recommendation – it’s required for compliance. By following NFPA 96’s rules, you significantly cut down the chance of a devastating grease fire in your exhaust system.

The Necessity of Professional Hood Cleaning for Compliance

One of the core mandates of NFPA 96 is regular Hood Cleaning by qualified professionals. Grease is highly flammable, and it accumulates quickly in kitchen exhaust hoods, ductwork, and fans. Even a thin layer of grease is enough to fuel a fire. According to NFPA data, there are tens of thousands of restaurant kitchen fires each year due to cooking operations – over 85,000 in the U.S. alone – causing about 5,000 injuries and 500+ deaths​.

Many of these fires are accelerated by grease buildup that wasn’t removed in time. This is why hood cleaning is not just a cleanliness issue, but a critical fire safety task. Professional hood cleaning involves scraping and power-washing the entire exhaust system (hood, filters, ducts, and exhaust fan) to bare metal. Only by removing all grease residues can you truly eliminate the fire hazard. NFPA 96 requires that cleaning be done by trained and certified personnel in order to ensure it’s thorough and compliant with standards. In fact, in New York City the FDNY requires that all hood cleaners have a W-64 or P-64 Certificate of Fitness and work for an FDNY-approved cleaning company​.

This ensures the technicians know how to clean according to code and won’t miss critical areas. Regular Hood Cleaning keeps your kitchen safe and also maintains proper airflow. Grease-clogged hoods and ducts don’t vent smoke and heat efficiently, which can hurt kitchen air quality and strain your Greenheck exhaust fans. By keeping up with cleaning schedules (whether monthly, quarterly, or as needed), you comply with NFPA 96 and also extend the life of your equipment. It’s a win-win: you avoid fire hazards and stay compliant with fire safety regulations. Moreover, having documentation of recent hood cleaning (such as a decal on the hood with the service date) demonstrates your compliance during inspections, which can save you from fines. The bottom line is that professional hood cleaning is an absolute necessity for NFPA 96 compliance and fire prevention in any commercial kitchen.

FDNY Regulations in NYC: Staying Compliant and Avoiding Penalties

If your restaurant is in New York City, you have an extra layer of fire safety rules from the FDNY (Fire Department of New York) on top of NFPA 96. The FDNY closely enforces hood cleaning and fire safety because NYC’s high-density environment leaves no room for error. Under NYC fire code (which aligns with NFPA 96), you must clean the entire cooking exhaust system at least once every three months “and more frequently as necessary”​.

In fact, for certain operations like wood or charcoal-burning ovens, the rules are even stricter: those using solid fuels have to inspect monthly and clean at least every three months as well​. This quarterly cleaning requirement is a minimum; if inspectors find grease build-up sooner, you’re expected to clean more often. The FDNY also requires that you only use FDNY-certified companies for your hood cleaning​.

These approved companies will send technicians who carry the proper Certificates of Fitness (W-64/P-64) every time they service your exhaust. After each cleaning, the crew will affix an FDNY decal or tag on your hood indicating the date of service as proof of compliance​.

During an FDNY inspection, officials will check for this decal and examine your hood and ducts for grease. They may also ask to see maintenance logs or reports. If you’ve been working with a reliable service like Done Right Hood and Fire Safety, you’ll have before-and-after photos and reports available – exactly what the FDNY wants to see to verify the cleaning was thorough. Penalties for non-compliance with FDNY and NFPA 96 regulations can be severe. Restaurants that fail to clean their hoods on schedule or have excessive grease can face hefty fines – in NYC these fines can be up to $10,000 for not maintaining clean exhaust systems​.

More dire, if an inspector deems your grease buildup an imminent hazard, they can issue a violation that might force you to shut down operations until the issue is fixed. The FDNY explicitly warns that unclean hoods and ducts can cause a fire “and will cause your business to be shut down until the system is put back into service.”​

In addition to fines and temporary closures, violations will hurt your inspection record and could drive up insurance premiums​. To stay compliant, restaurant owners in NYC should:

• Schedule regular hood cleanings (at least quarterly) with an FDNY-certified hood cleaning company.

• Keep documentation of each cleaning (service stickers, reports, and receipts).

• Visually inspect grease filters and visible duct areas frequently (daily or weekly) so you can arrange extra cleanings if grease is accumulating faster due to heavy cooking volume.

• Ensure your fire suppression system (Ansul or similar) is serviced and tagged on schedule, since FDNY will check that along with the hood.

• Only use approved vendors like Done Right Hood and Fire Safety who can also help cure any violations and handle the necessary paperwork to certify your kitchen is safe again.

By following FDNY regulations in tandem with NFPA 96, you’ll maintain a safe operation and avoid the nightmare of fines, legal issues, or forced shutdowns.

Case Studies: NFPA 96 Violations and Lessons Learned

Real-world incidents clearly illustrate why adhering to NFPA 96 and doing regular hood cleaning is so critical. Let’s look at a couple of examples (and nightmares) that restaurant owners have faced:

Case Study 1: Grease Fire Shuts Down a Restaurant. A popular waterfront restaurant in Rhode Island experienced a severe kitchen fire that investigators traced back to grease buildup in the hood and duct system​.

The owners had cleaned the hoods in January, but by late February a grease fire ignited in the exhaust flue, shooting flames out of the roof. Firefighters contained the blaze, but the damage was extensive. The R.I. State Fire Marshal determined the “most probable cause of this fire is lack of cleaning in the duct work” – meaning grease had accumulated beyond safe levels​.

In the aftermath, the business had to remain closed indefinitely for repairs, and the owners faced huge losses from reconstruction costs and lost revenue​.

This case underscores that even a slight lapse in the cleaning schedule can have disastrous consequences. Had the owners followed NFPA 96’s guidelines more rigorously – possibly scheduling more frequent cleanings or ensuring the entire vertical duct was cleaned – the fire might have been prevented. The lesson: never let your guard down on hood cleaning frequency.

Case Study 2: NYC Restaurant Cited for Grease Violations. In New York City, the FDNY slapped a restaurant with an NFPA 96 violation after inspectors discovered thick grease deposits in the kitchen’s hood and duct, indicating it had not been cleaned for over six months. The immediate penalty was a fine (several thousand dollars for a first offense), but the bigger issue was the threat of closure.

The owner had to quickly hire a certified Hood Cleaning service to scrape the entire system to bare metal, and only after a follow-up inspection could they resume normal operations. This scenario is all too common – and completely avoidable. If the owner had maintained a quarterly cleaning schedule with a company like Done Right Hood and Fire Safety, they would have stayed off the FDNY’s radar and avoided the fines. Moreover, they would have kept their staff and customers safer. Fire officials often note that preventative measures cost far less than dealing with a fire or forced shutdown – a sentiment echoed by many restaurateurs who’ve been through it.

In both cases, the takeaway is that strict adherence to NFPA 96 and local fire codes saves you money and headaches in the long run. Ignoring these standards is, as one expert put it, “a costly mistake, leading to legal issues, hefty fines, and higher insurance premiums”​.

Beyond the financial hit, a fire can destroy your business and endanger lives. The investment in proper cleaning and maintenance is minor compared to the potential devastation of a fire. Always schedule that hood cleaning on time, and fix small issues before they escalate – that’s doing it done right, as the pros say.

Captive Aire Hood vs. Accurex Hoods: Performance, Cost, and Maintenance

When it comes to kitchen ventilation systems, choosing the right hood brand can impact your compliance and maintenance efforts. Captive Aire Hood systems and Accurex Hoods are two of the top contenders in the commercial kitchen world. Both brands manufacture hoods and exhaust setups designed to meet NFPA 96 requirements for grease removal and fire safety. Here, we’ll compare their performance, cost-effectiveness, and maintenance considerations:

Performance:

CaptiveAire (often written as Captive Aire) is known as a leading supplier of commercial kitchen hoods in the U.S., with a reputation for quality and reliability​.

Captive Aire hoods come in a range of models and are praised for strong exhaust airflow and effective grease capture – which is crucial for preventing grease fires. They integrate well with fire suppression systems and meet all NFPA 96 standards out of the box. Accurex, on the other hand, is a brand under the Greenheck Group that specializes in kitchen ventilation. Accurex hoods are built for high performance as well – these systems often combine energy-efficient exhaust hoods with built-in fire suppression options​.

Accurex’s designs focus on optimized airflow (which can mean lower energy costs to run the fans) and effective removal of smoke and grease vapors. In terms of sheer performance, both Captive Aire and Accurex are top-tier. Your cooking volume and kitchen layout might benefit slightly more from one versus the other – for instance, some chefs find CaptiveAire hood systems have excellent capture of grill smoke, while Accurex hoods might shine in quieter operation or advanced control features – but both will do the job well when properly configured and used.

Cost-Effectiveness: Cost is often a deciding factor between these brands.

Captive Aire Hood systems are widely used, partly because they tend to be very competitive in price while still delivering high quality. You can often find a CaptiveAire solution to fit your budget and needs (from basic canopy hoods to packaged systems that include exhaust fans and makeup air). Accurex hoods, being part of Greenheck’s lineup, are also high quality but can sometimes come at a premium, especially if you opt for their more energy-efficient or custom-engineered solutions. However, the higher upfront cost of an Accurex system might be offset by energy savings over time (for example, if the hood has a high-efficiency motor and better heat containment, it could lower your AC bills).

Both brands are robust and long-lasting if maintained, so you’re investing in equipment that should serve you for decades. From a compliance standpoint, either choice is sound – both will satisfy NFPA 96 criteria and local codes when installed correctly. It often comes down to the specific features you need and the quotes you receive. Many kitchen ventilation contractors recommend CaptiveAire or Accurex as trusted brands, citing their long-standing presence in the industry and reliable support networks.

Maintenance:

Regardless of choosing Captive Aire or Accurex, maintenance is key to keeping the hood system efficient and safe. Both Captive Aire Hood and Accurex Hoods need regular cleaning per NFPA 96 schedules – grease filters should be cleaned or replaced frequently, and the interior of the hood and connected ducts must be degreased by professionals periodically. In terms of design, CaptiveAire hoods often have easily removable baffle filters and access panels that make thorough cleaning easier (your hood cleaners can open panels to reach into the ductwork).

Accurex hoods are also built with maintenance in mind, featuring access points and sometimes integrated grease capture trays. One advantage of Accurex being tied to Greenheck is that their systems can pair seamlessly with Greenheck exhaust fans and controls, potentially simplifying service since one company’s components are working together. In practice, both brands’ equipment should be serviced by qualified technicians familiar with that make. Parts like fan belts, motors, and filters are readily available for both brands.

Your hood cleaning service company can usually also perform basic upkeep like lubricating fan bearings or tightening belts during a scheduled cleaning. Using a certified service provider (e.g. Done Right Hood and Fire Safety) ensures that whether you have a Captive Aire Hood or an Accurex Hood, the team will maintain it according to manufacturer recommendations and NFPA 96 guidelines.

The key is to not assume a high-end hood can be left alone – even the best equipment will become hazardous without regular cleaning and check-ups. The good news is both Captive Aire and Accurex build durable systems, so with proper care, they remain cost-effective over their life by avoiding breakdowns and keeping your kitchen in compliance.

Greenheck Exhaust Systems in Commercial Kitchens

Many commercial kitchens rely on Greenheck exhaust fans and ventilation components as the backbone of their hood systems. Greenheck is widely recognized as a leader in the ventilation industry – in fact, Greenheck is the leading supplier of air movement, control, and conditioning equipment for commercial buildings, and their fans are found in all kinds of restaurant kitchens​.

If you look on the roof of a restaurant, there’s a good chance the mushroom-shaped exhaust fan unit is a Greenheck. Their product line ranges from powerful upblast exhaust fans (to vent out grease-laden air) to make-up air units, all designed with NFPA 96 compliance and fire safety in mind. Why are Greenheck systems so commonly used? For one, Greenheck has been making kitchen ventilation equipment for decades (since 1975 for kitchen systems​), so they have a proven track record of reliability.

Restaurant owners and contractors trust that a Greenheck exhaust fan will perform as advertised – providing the necessary airflow (CFM) to pull out smoke and heat, even in high-volume, high-heat kitchens. These fans are also engineered to handle grease-laden exhaust; for example, many models include grease collection boxes and hinged access panels for easy cleaning, features that align with NFPA 96’s requirement for rooftop grease containment and accessible cleaning. Greenheck also emphasizes energy efficiency and safety.

Their fans and hoods often come with high-efficiency motors and can be equipped with variable speed controls, so you ventilate as needed and save electricity during slower periods. In short, Greenheck equipment offers a combination of strong performance and reliability that makes it a go-to in commercial kitchen design. Maintenance best practices for Greenheck equipment mirror the general NFPA 96 rules: keep it clean and well-maintained. Greenheck’s own installation and maintenance manuals note to follow NFPA 96 for cleaning fans used in restaurant exhaust setups​.

Practically speaking, this means scheduling regular cleanings where technicians will open the fan, scrape and wash out any grease from the blades and housing, and then re-balance and test the fan. You should also ensure the fan’s grease trap (if it has one on the roof) is emptied or replaced whenever it fills up, to prevent overflow of grease onto the roof (which is both a fire hazard and a building code violation).

Another tip:

Have your hood cleaning crew check the fan’s belt and motor during each service. Greenheck fans are sturdy, but a loose belt or an unlubricated bearing can reduce performance or cause a failure. A qualified service company will know how to lubricate bearings and tighten components as part of routine maintenance. By taking care of your Greenheck exhaust system – keeping it free of grease and verifying it’s running smoothly – you ensure it will continue running strong for years. This not only keeps you compliant with NFPA 96 and FDNY rules, but also protects your investment in high-quality equipment.

How Done Right Hood and Fire Safety Keeps Your Kitchen Safe

Staying on top of all these fire safety requirements can be daunting for a busy restaurant owner. This is where Done Right Hood and Fire Safety comes in as an invaluable partner. Done Right Hood & Fire Safety is an FDNY-certified company that specializes in keeping commercial kitchens compliant with NFPA 96 through comprehensive services. They provide professional hood cleaning performed by technicians with the required FDNY certificates, meaning the job will meet all code requirements and pass inspection.

After Done Right’s team cleans your kitchen hood and exhaust, your system will be free of grease and safe to operate, and you’ll get the proper documentation (like a sticker on the hood and a full report) to prove it. One of the big advantages of working with Done Right Hood and Fire Safety is that they don’t just clean – they ensure your whole kitchen exhaust and fire suppression setup is up to code. If you have existing violations, they have the credentials to remove your violations and get you in compliance​.

This can save you from a lot of bureaucratic hassle. For example, if the FDNY cited you for an accumulation of grease or an expired cleaning tag, Done Right will not only perform the necessary cleaning, but can also file the paperwork to clear the violation on your behalf. Their team stays up-to-date on the latest fire codes and technology, so they can also advise you if they spot any other issues (like an outdated fire suppression nozzle or an improper duct installation) during their service. Beyond cleaning, Done Right Hood and Fire Safety offers services like hood fabrication and installation (ensuring any new hood you install is compliant from day one), fire suppression system maintenance, and even grease trap cleaning – a full suite to keep your kitchen safe.

Restaurant owners who use Done Right’s services often mention the peace of mind they get. You know your kitchen is protected from fire hazards and that you won’t be ambushed by a code violation. Done Right’s technicians take before-and-after photos and use checklists to guarantee that their crew cleans every nook of your system (whether you have a Captive Aire Hood, an Accurex Hood, etc.) and inspects it thoroughly. This transparency and thoroughness make them fully accountable – their report will show exactly what was cleaned to the “bare metal” standard. In short, Done Right Hood and Fire Safety helps you maintain a safe, compliant kitchen without the stress. You can focus on running your restaurant and cooking great food, while they focus on keeping the exhaust systems and fire safety equipment done right. The result is a kitchen that passes fire inspections, avoids preventable fires, and stays open for business without interruption.

Resources for NFPA 96, Hood Cleaning, and Fire Safety Compliance

To further educate yourself and ensure compliance, here are some useful resources:

Done Right Hood and Fire Safety – Services and Contact: Visit the Done Right Hood & Fire Safety website for information on professional hood cleaning services, FDNY violation removal, hood installations, and more. They offer consultations and scheduling for New York, New Jersey, and South Florida restaurant owners.

NFPA 96 Guidelines: Read the NFPA 96 standard overview on the National Fire Protection Association website. This provides detailed insight into the ventilation and fire protection requirements for commercial cooking operations.

FDNY Commercial Kitchen Compliance: For New York City-specific regulations, see the FDNY’s official bulletin on commercial cooking exhaust requirements (PDF). This FDNY notice to owners explains how often you must clean hoods in NYC, who is authorized to do it, and the consequences of non-compliance. Additionally, the FDNY Business page on Commercial Cooking Exhaust Systems provides a list of approved cleaning companies and tips for choosing a qualified contractor.

By leveraging these resources and partnering with experts, you can ensure your restaurant’s kitchen remains safe, legal, and efficient. Remember: NFPA 96 compliance, regular hood cleaning, and top-notch equipment (Captive Aire, Accurex, Greenheck) all work together to protect your business from fire. Stay proactive about fire safety and you’ll keep the flames where they belong – in the stove, not in your ceiling.