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Kitchen extraction - the canopy and fire
The canopy sits directly over the flames, catching the first and heaviest grease of everything you cook. That makes it the most ignition-prone part of the whole extract system - and exactly the part a fire risk assessment cares about most, along with the records that prove it is kept clean.
The short answer
The canopy sits directly above the cooking equipment, so it catches the heaviest grease and sits at the point where ignition is most likely - a flare-up on the cookline meets the canopy first. That makes canopy cleanliness central to the kitchen's fire risk, and therefore to the fire risk assessment. A fire risk assessor wants the canopy kept genuinely clean, as part of the whole extract system, and wants the records to show it - because a grease-laden canopy over live flames is exactly the kind of fire risk an assessment exists to catch.
Why the canopy is the critical point
The canopy has a special place in kitchen fire risk because of where it sits: directly over the cooking equipment, right above the flames and heat of the cookline. It is the first thing the grease-laden air rises into, so it catches the heaviest, first hit of grease from everything cooked beneath it. And it sits at the exact point where ignition is most likely - over the live burners, grills and fryers where a flare-up can occur. So the canopy combines the two ingredients of a fire, fuel and ignition source, in the closest proximity of anywhere in the system.
That combination makes the canopy the most ignition-prone part of the whole extract. A grease-laden canopy directly above the flames is combustible fuel sitting where a fire is most likely to start - a flare-up on the cookline meets the greasy canopy immediately, and grease is exactly what a small fire needs to become a larger one. So of all the parts of the extract system, the canopy is where the fire risk is most concentrated and most immediate, which is precisely why its condition matters so much to the kitchen's overall fire safety.
Why the FRA cares about it
A fire risk assessment exists to identify and check the control of fire risks in a building, and in a commercial kitchen the grease in the extract is one of the sharpest - the canopy most of all. So when a fire risk assessor considers the kitchen, the canopy is exactly the kind of thing they are concerned with: a concentration of combustible grease at the point ignition is most likely. A grease-laden canopy is a clear, present fire risk directly over the cooking, and identifying and controlling exactly that sort of risk is what the assessment is for.
So the canopy's cleanliness feeds directly into the fire risk assessment. An assessor looking at the kitchen's fire risk wants to see the canopy kept genuinely clean, because a neglected, greasy canopy is a fire risk the assessment must flag, while a clean one is a risk being controlled. The canopy is where the assessment's general concern with kitchen grease fire risk meets its sharpest, most visible point - which is why it is central to how the extract is judged in the assessment, not a peripheral detail.
The whole system, not just the canopy
While the canopy is the most ignition-prone point, it is important that it is the start of the system, not the whole of it - and a fire risk assessment concerns the whole extract, not the canopy alone. The grease that passes the canopy travels into the ductwork and fan, where it also accumulates and carries fire risk, and can let a fire spread through the building. So a clean canopy above grease-laden ductwork is not a controlled system - the assessment looks at the whole run, and the canopy is where it is most visible, but not where its concern ends.
This matters because judging the extract by the canopy alone can mislead in both directions. A visibly clean canopy can front a grease-laden duct that carries real fire and spread risk out of sight - so the canopy looking clean does not mean the system is. The fire risk assessment considers the whole system, and the canopy is one part of it, albeit the most critical single point. Keeping the canopy clean is essential, but it is the cleanliness of the whole extract - canopy, ductwork and fan - that the assessment ultimately depends on.
The records the assessor wants
As with the rest of the fire risk assessment, evidence is what lets the assessor conclude the canopy fire risk is controlled. An assessor wants to see not just that the canopy looks clean on the day, but that the extract system - canopy included - is cleaned on an adequate cycle, with records to prove it. The canopy's daily and periodic cleaning, and the deeper cleaning of the whole extract to standard, should be documented, so the assessor has evidence that the most ignition-prone part of the kitchen is being kept under control rather than just happening to look acceptable at the moment of the visit.
So canopy cleaning feeds the fire risk assessment in two ways: the physical cleanliness of the canopy, addressing the sharpest fire risk in the kitchen, and the records that demonstrate it is maintained. A kitchen that keeps its canopy - and its whole extract - genuinely clean, and documents it, gives the assessor exactly what is needed to sign off the extract fire risk as controlled. One that neglects the canopy, or cannot evidence its cleaning, leaves the assessment to record a fire risk at the most dangerous point in the kitchen. The canopy is where clean condition and good records matter most to the assessment.
The takeaway
The canopy sits directly over the flames, catching the heaviest grease at the point ignition is most likely, which makes it the most ignition-prone part of the extract and the sharpest fire risk in the kitchen. That is exactly why it is central to the fire risk assessment: a grease-laden canopy over live flames is precisely the kind of fire risk an assessment exists to identify and check the control of.
So canopy cleaning feeds the fire risk assessment directly - through the physical cleanliness of the canopy, addressing the kitchen's sharpest fire risk, and through the records that prove it, along with the whole extract, is kept clean on an adequate cycle. And because the canopy is the start of the system, not the whole of it, the assessment depends on the cleanliness of the whole extract, with the canopy its most critical point. Keep the canopy and the system genuinely clean and evidenced, and the assessment finds the sharpest fire risk controlled.
Questions
Because it sits directly over the cooking equipment - right above the flames and heat - catching the heaviest, first hit of grease at the exact point ignition is most likely. It combines fuel and ignition source in the closest proximity of anywhere in the system.
Because a fire risk assessment exists to identify and check the control of fire risks, and a grease-laden canopy over live flames is one of the sharpest in a commercial kitchen - a concentration of combustible grease at the point ignition is most likely.
No - the assessment concerns the whole extract, not the canopy alone. Grease that passes the canopy accumulates in the ductwork and fan, carrying fire and spread risk. A visibly clean canopy can front a grease-laden duct, so the whole system's cleanliness matters.
Evidence that the extract system - canopy included - is cleaned on an adequate cycle, not just that the canopy looks clean on the day. The daily and periodic cleaning, and the deeper cleaning of the whole extract to standard, should be documented.
In two ways - the physical cleanliness of the canopy, addressing the kitchen's sharpest fire risk, and the records that demonstrate it is maintained. Both are what let the assessor conclude the most ignition-prone part of the kitchen is controlled.
A grease-laden canopy over live flames is a clear fire risk the assessment must flag, and if its cleaning cannot be evidenced, the assessor records an uncontrolled fire risk at the most dangerous point in the kitchen. It is exactly what the assessment exists to catch.
We clean the canopy and the whole extract system to TR19 and provide the records - keeping the kitchen's sharpest fire risk controlled and evidenced for your fire risk assessment.
