Working with the West Midlands Fire Service

System Hygienics' Vital Role in Enhancing Fire Safety for West Midlands Fire Service

System Hygienics, the UK's leading air hygiene specialist, has helped West Midlands Fire Service meet its legal fire safety obligations by completing a thorough clean of its commercial kitchen extract systems across all 33 of its sites.

Building and facilities managers have a legal obligation to prevent the risk of fire within the buildings they manage under The Fire Safety Order (2005). This includes regularly cleaning kitchen extract systems to avoid the build up of grease, oil, food debris and other potentially harmful bacteria, which can cause serious safety hazards in the workplace, and in the worst case, a fire outbreak.

System Hygienics completed a Wet Film Thickness Test to act as a gauge for measuring the efficiency of the cleaning process, before conducting a thorough manual clean of the Fire Service's kitchen extract systems. This incorporates using a precision gauge which is capable of measuring grease thickness from 25 to 500 microns and has become the industry standard for determining the accumulation of grease.

Poorly maintained systems often have limited access points and are only cleaned as far as can be reached. System Hygienics identified the access points in the kitchen ductwork and, where appropriate, installed additional access doors in order to carry out a deep clean of the entire system. There was no leakage of grease or other contaminants, and cleaning was achieved quickly and efficiently.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service, explained: “We take fire safety compliance very seriously as responding to fire hazards is our business. The first phase of cleaning is now complete and System Hygienics' before and after photographic report and certification of cleanliness confirms that cleaning was achieved to an excellent standard.'