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Kitchen deep cleaning - fire safety
Hot work - welding, cutting, grinding, brazing, blowtorches, anything producing heat, sparks or flame - is a major cause of fires, often igniting long after the work stops. A safe system of work controls it: assessing the risk, using a permit, removing combustibles, having extinguishers, and keeping a fire watch during and after. Here is how to write a safe system of work for hot work. This is general information, not fire-safety advice.
The short answer
Hot work is any work that produces sufficient heat, sparks or flame to cause a fire - welding, flame cutting, grinding (which throws sparks), soldering, brazing, and the use of blowtorches and other flame equipment. It is a major cause of fires, because the heat, sparks and flame it produces can ignite combustible materials nearby - and, dangerously, fires from hot work often ignite after the work has stopped, from smouldering material that the sparks or heat set off but that only catches fire later (sometimes well after the work finished). So hot work is a significant fire risk that has to be properly controlled, and a safe system of work is how it is controlled - a documented safe procedure for carrying out hot work safely, often centred on a hot work permit. Writing a safe system of work for hot work covers the following. Risk assessment: assess the fire risk of the hot work - where it is being done, what combustibles are nearby, what could ignite - as the basis for the controls (fire safety law requires this, and hot work in premises with a significant fire risk warrants a permit system). The hot work permit: a formal document that authorises the specific hot work and controls it - defining the work, identifying the fire hazards, specifying the controls required before work begins, requiring the controls to be in place, and establishing the fire watch and post-work inspection. The permit ensures the controls are in place before the work starts and the work is authorised and controlled. The key controls: clear or protect the area of combustibles - remove combustible materials from around the hot work, or where they cannot be removed, protect them (cover with fire-resistant blankets or screens) - so there is nothing nearby to ignite; have the right extinguishers to hand - appropriate firefighting equipment at the point of work, ready to tackle any fire immediately; and keep a continuous fire watch - someone watching for fire during the work and, crucially, for a period after it stops (a continued fire watch after the work, because hot work can smoulder and ignite after it finishes - so the fire watch continues after the work, with a later check too), and the person doing the hot work should not be their own fire watch (a separate person watches). Plus a competent person doing the work, and the controls followed. So a safe system of work for hot work means: assess the risk, use a permit to authorise and control the work, remove or protect combustibles, have extinguishers to hand, and keep a fire watch during and after - controlling the significant fire risk of hot work. In a kitchen context, hot work might include blowtorch use (finishing dishes) or maintenance hot work (repairs, welding) - and the same controls apply. This is general information, not fire-safety advice; follow current fire-safety guidance and the relevant standards for hot work.
Key points
Hot work and its risk
Hot work is any work that produces enough heat, sparks or flame to cause a fire - and understanding what it is and why it is dangerous is the basis for controlling it. Hot work includes welding, flame cutting, grinding (which throws sparks), soldering, brazing, the use of blowtorches, and other work with flame or spark-producing equipment - anything generating sufficient heat, sparks or flame to potentially start a fire. It is a major cause of fires, because the heat, sparks and flame it produces can ignite combustible materials nearby (sparks travel and land on combustibles, heat conducts to nearby materials, flame directly ignites) - so hot work near combustibles is a real ignition risk. This is why hot work has to be properly controlled: it is a genuine, significant fire hazard.
A particularly dangerous feature of hot work fires is that they often ignite after the work has stopped - from smouldering. The sparks or heat from the hot work can set combustible material smouldering (starting to burn slowly, unseen) without an immediate flame, and that smouldering material can then catch fire later - sometimes well after the hot work has finished and everyone has left. So a fire from hot work can start after the work is done, from smouldering that the work set off. This delayed ignition is why the fire watch has to continue after the work stops (covered below) - because the danger does not end when the work does. So hot work is a major fire cause with a dangerous delayed-ignition characteristic, which is why controlling it requires not just controls during the work but a continued fire watch after. Understanding this - that hot work produces heat, sparks and flame that can ignite combustibles, often after the work through smouldering - is the basis for the safe system of work that controls it. The following sections cover that safe system - the risk assessment, the permit, and the key controls (clear the area, extinguishers, fire watch during and after). So the risk (ignition, including delayed) is what the safe system of work is designed to control. This is general information, not fire-safety advice.
Assess and permit
A safe system of work for hot work is built on assessing the risk and, typically, using a hot work permit to authorise and control the work - the framework that ensures the controls are in place. Risk assessment: the starting point is assessing the fire risk of the hot work - considering where it is being done, what combustible materials are nearby, what could ignite, and what the fire risk is - which is the basis for deciding the controls needed. Fire safety law requires assessing and controlling fire risks, and hot work is a significant fire risk that warrants assessment. So the safe system starts with assessing the specific hot work's fire risk, to determine the controls. This assessment informs the permit and the controls - identifying what needs to be controlled for this particular hot work.
The hot work permit: a hot work permit is a formal document that authorises the specific hot work and controls it - and it is the characteristic tool of a safe system of work for hot work. The permit typically: defines the work (what hot work, where, when); identifies the fire hazards (from the risk assessment); specifies the controls required before work begins (clearing combustibles, extinguishers, fire watch, and so on); requires those controls to be confirmed in place before the work is authorised to start; and establishes the fire watch and post-work inspection requirements. So the permit ensures that, before the hot work starts, the fire risk has been assessed and the required controls are in place, and that the work is authorised and controlled with the fire watch and post-work checks specified. The permit-to-work system is important because it prevents hot work being done without the controls in place - the work is only authorised (permitted) once the controls are confirmed, so it enforces the safe procedure. So a safe system of work for hot work uses a risk assessment (to determine the controls) and a hot work permit (to authorise the work and ensure the controls are in place). This framework - assess, then permit with the controls confirmed - is how the safe system ensures hot work is done safely, with the controls in place before it starts. The specific controls the permit requires are covered next. So the assess-and-permit framework controls hot work by ensuring the risk is assessed and the controls are in place and confirmed before the work is authorised.
Clear the area, have extinguishers
Two of the key controls a safe system of work for hot work requires are clearing or protecting the area of combustibles, and having the right extinguishers to hand - removing the fuel for a fire, and being ready to tackle one. Clear or protect the area of combustibles: the core control is to remove combustible materials from around the hot work, so there is nothing nearby to ignite - clearing the area of combustibles (flammable materials, packaging, rubbish, anything that could catch) within a sufficient distance of the hot work (sparks can travel some distance, so a good clearance is needed). Where combustibles cannot be removed (fixed materials, structures), they should be protected instead - covered or shielded with fire-resistant blankets or screens, so the sparks and heat cannot ignite them. So the area is made safe by removing the combustibles or, where they cannot be removed, protecting them - so there is nothing for the hot work to ignite. This is a fundamental control, because removing the fuel (the combustibles) prevents the fire.
Have the right extinguishers to hand: appropriate firefighting equipment (the right type of extinguisher for the potential fire) should be at the point of work, ready to tackle any fire immediately if one starts. Despite the other controls, a fire could still start (a stray spark, unexpected ignition), so having the right extinguisher immediately to hand means it can be tackled at once, before it grows - so a small ignition can be dealt with immediately rather than becoming a serious fire. So the right extinguishers at the point of work are a key control - the readiness to put out any fire fast. Together, clearing/protecting the area of combustibles (removing the fuel) and having extinguishers to hand (readiness to tackle a fire) are two of the core controls: prevent ignition by removing the combustibles, and be ready to extinguish any fire that starts. These, with the fire watch (covered next), are the practical fire controls the permit requires. So clear or protect the area of combustibles, and have the right extinguishers to hand, as key controls in the safe system of work for hot work. Removing the fuel and being ready to extinguish are fundamental to controlling the hot work's fire risk during the work. The fire watch, especially after the work, is the third key control.
Fire watch, during and after
The fire watch - someone watching for fire during the work and, crucially, for a period after it stops - is a key control, and the continued watch after the work is especially important given hot work's delayed-ignition danger. During the work, a fire watch (a person watching for any fire starting) means any ignition is spotted and dealt with immediately. But the crucial part is that the fire watch continues after the hot work stops - for a period after the work finishes - because, as noted, hot work can leave combustible material smouldering that ignites after the work is done, so the danger does not end when the work stops. So the fire watch must continue after the work (a common requirement is a continued fire watch for at least a period after the work stops, with a further check later), watching for any delayed ignition from smouldering, so that a fire starting after the work is caught. This continued fire watch is what guards against the delayed-ignition fires that make hot work so dangerous - without it, a fire could start after everyone has left, unnoticed until it is serious.
Two further points on the fire watch. The person doing the hot work should not be their own fire watch - a separate person should keep the fire watch, because the person doing the work is focused on the work and cannot also reliably watch for fire (and the fire watch needs to continue after the worker has stopped and may have left). So the fire watch is a separate role from the hot work itself. And the fire watch person needs to be able to raise the alarm and use the extinguisher if a fire starts - equipped and ready to act. So the fire watch - a separate person watching for fire during the work and for a period after (guarding against delayed ignition), able to act on any fire - is the crucial control, especially the continued watch after the work. Together with clearing the combustibles and having extinguishers, the fire watch (during and after) controls the hot work's fire risk. The continued fire watch after the work is the control that specifically addresses hot work's dangerous delayed-ignition characteristic, so it is essential. So keep a continuous fire watch, by a separate competent person, during the work and for a period after - the crucial control in the safe system of work for hot work. This is what catches the delayed fires that hot work can cause. So the fire watch, especially after the work, completes the key controls.
Writing it, and the kitchen
So writing a safe system of work for hot work means documenting the safe procedure that controls it: assessing the fire risk, using a hot work permit to authorise the work and ensure the controls are in place, and requiring the key controls - clearing or protecting the area of combustibles (removing the fuel), having the right extinguishers to hand (readiness to tackle a fire), and keeping a continuous fire watch during the work and for a period after (guarding against ignition, including delayed ignition from smouldering), with a competent person doing the work and a separate person keeping the fire watch. The safe system, centred on the permit, ensures the hot work is assessed, authorised, and done with the controls in place - controlling the significant fire risk hot work poses. So the safe system of work is the assess-permit-control-and-fire-watch procedure that makes hot work safe. Writing it means setting out this procedure clearly, so hot work is always done to it.
In a kitchen context, hot work might arise in a couple of ways. Some cooking uses hot work - notably blowtorches (for finishing dishes, caramelising, and so on), which produce flame and are a form of hot work needing care around combustibles. And maintenance or repair work in the kitchen or premises might involve hot work - welding, cutting or grinding during repairs or installation. In both cases, the same principles apply: the hot work is a fire risk that should be controlled (assessed, and for significant work a permit, with the combustibles cleared, extinguishers to hand, and a fire watch). So a kitchen should have a safe system of work for any hot work it involves - whether routine blowtorch use (handled safely, away from combustibles, with care) or maintenance hot work (controlled through a permit and the fire controls). This connects hot work to the kitchen's fire safety more broadly - hot work is one fire risk among several (alongside the cooking fire risks and the grease fire risk in the extraction), all of which the kitchen's fire safety must manage. So control any hot work in the kitchen through a safe system of work, as part of the kitchen's overall fire safety. So writing a safe system of work for hot work - assess, permit, clear the area, extinguishers, fire watch during and after - controls this significant fire risk, in a kitchen as anywhere. This is general information, not fire-safety advice; follow current fire-safety guidance and the relevant standards for hot work.
Questions
Any work that produces sufficient heat, sparks or flame to cause a fire - welding, flame cutting, grinding (which throws sparks), soldering, brazing, the use of blowtorches, and other work with flame or spark-producing equipment. It is a major cause of fires, because the heat, sparks and flame it produces can ignite combustible materials nearby (sparks travel and land on combustibles, heat conducts to nearby materials, flame directly ignites). A particularly dangerous feature is that hot work fires often ignite after the work has stopped, from smouldering - the sparks or heat can set combustible material smouldering (burning slowly, unseen) without an immediate flame, and that can catch fire later, sometimes well after the work finished and everyone has left. So hot work is a significant fire hazard with a dangerous delayed-ignition characteristic, which is why it must be properly controlled through a safe system of work. In a kitchen, hot work might include blowtorch use (finishing dishes) or maintenance hot work (welding, cutting during repairs). This is general information, not fire-safety advice.
A documented safe procedure for carrying out hot work safely, controlling its fire risk - typically centred on a hot work permit. It covers: assessing the fire risk of the hot work (where it is done, what combustibles are nearby, what could ignite), as the basis for the controls; a hot work permit (a formal document authorising the specific work and controlling it - defining the work, identifying the hazards, specifying the controls required before work begins, requiring them to be in place, and establishing the fire watch and post-work inspection); and the key controls - clearing or protecting the area of combustibles, having the right extinguishers to hand, and keeping a continuous fire watch during the work and for a period after - with a competent person doing the work and a separate person keeping the fire watch. So the safe system ensures the hot work is assessed, authorised, and done with the controls in place, controlling the significant fire risk. Writing it means setting out this procedure clearly, so hot work is always done to it. Follow current fire-safety guidance and the relevant standards for hot work.
A formal document that authorises specific hot work and controls it - the characteristic tool of a safe system of work for hot work. The permit typically: defines the work (what hot work, where, when); identifies the fire hazards (from the risk assessment); specifies the controls required before work begins (clearing combustibles, extinguishers, fire watch); requires those controls to be confirmed in place before the work is authorised to start; and establishes the fire watch and post-work inspection requirements. So the permit ensures that, before the hot work starts, the fire risk has been assessed and the required controls are in place, and the work is authorised and controlled with the fire watch and post-work checks specified. The permit-to-work system is important because it prevents hot work being done without the controls in place - the work is only authorised (permitted) once the controls are confirmed, so it enforces the safe procedure. So the hot work permit is central to a safe system of work: it authorises the work and ensures the controls are in place and confirmed before it starts. It is used particularly for hot work in premises with a significant fire risk.
Clearing or protecting the area of combustibles, having extinguishers to hand, and a fire watch. Clear or protect the area: remove combustible materials from around the hot work (within a sufficient distance, as sparks travel), so there is nothing nearby to ignite - or where they cannot be removed, protect them (cover with fire-resistant blankets or screens). This removes the fuel for a fire. Have the right extinguishers to hand: appropriate firefighting equipment at the point of work, ready to tackle any fire immediately - so a small ignition can be dealt with at once before it grows. And keep a continuous fire watch: someone watching for fire during the work and, crucially, for a period after it stops (because hot work can smoulder and ignite after it finishes), by a separate person (not the one doing the work), able to raise the alarm and use the extinguisher. So the key controls are removing/protecting the combustibles (removing the fuel), extinguishers to hand (readiness to tackle a fire), and the fire watch during and after (catching ignition, including delayed). These control the hot work's fire risk. The continued fire watch after the work is especially important, addressing the delayed-ignition danger.
Because hot work can leave combustible material smouldering that ignites after the work is done - so the danger does not end when the work stops. The sparks or heat from the hot work can set combustible material smouldering (starting to burn slowly, unseen) without an immediate flame, and that smouldering material can then catch fire later, sometimes well after the hot work has finished and everyone has left. So a fire from hot work can start after the work is done. This is why the fire watch must continue after the work stops - for a period after the work finishes (a common requirement is a continued fire watch for at least a period after, with a further check later) - watching for any delayed ignition from smouldering, so a fire starting after the work is caught. Without this continued fire watch, a fire could start after everyone has left, unnoticed until it is serious. So the continued fire watch after the work is the control that specifically guards against the delayed-ignition fires that make hot work so dangerous - it is essential, catching fires that start after the work stops. The person doing the work should not be their own fire watch; a separate person keeps it, including after the worker has finished.
It can, in a couple of ways. Some cooking uses hot work - notably blowtorches (for finishing dishes, caramelising, and so on), which produce flame and are a form of hot work needing care around combustibles. And maintenance or repair work in the kitchen or premises might involve hot work - welding, cutting or grinding during repairs or installation. In both cases, the same principles apply: the hot work is a fire risk that should be controlled (assessed, and for significant work a permit, with the combustibles cleared, extinguishers to hand, and a fire watch). So a kitchen should have a safe system of work for any hot work it involves - routine blowtorch use (handled safely, away from combustibles, with care) or maintenance hot work (controlled through a permit and the fire controls). This connects hot work to the kitchen's fire safety more broadly - it is one fire risk among several (alongside the cooking fire risks and the grease fire risk in the extraction), all of which the kitchen's fire safety must manage. So control any hot work in the kitchen through a safe system of work, as part of the kitchen's overall fire safety.
Hot work is one kitchen fire risk; grease build-up in the extraction is another, a real fire load. Our kitchen deep cleaning and extraction cleaning keep that grease fire risk down, part of the kitchen's overall fire safety. Ask us about reducing your kitchen's fire risk.
