The fire load sits in the ductwork, at the fire dampers and at the fan – not in the visible hood, which kitchen staff clean themselves.
In commercial kitchen exhaust systems the visible hood is not what decides the fire load – the further exhaust route does: ducts, fire dampers and the fan collect grease and cannot be reached without specialist access. VDI 2052 is a private technical guideline, not a law; the obligation to maintain the system follows from the operator's duty of care.
The daily clean ends where the operational hazard begins. Filters and hood are rinsed and wiped down in the evening – the collar behind the hood, the ductwork, the fire damper and the roof fan are untouched by this. These areas cannot be reached without inspection openings, and for occupational health and safety reasons kitchen staff may neither enter them nor work on them with unsuitable equipment. The reason for an enquiry usually comes from outside: the property insurer asks for maintenance records as part of its risk assessment, the fire service points out grease residues during a fire inspection, an expert reports that a fire damper no longer moves freely, or the smell in the stairwell can no longer be traced back to the kitchen itself. The roles must be kept apart here: the operator is whoever is legally responsible for the kitchen; the client may be the property management company, the facility organisation or a tenant; the users are the kitchen staff.
The scope follows the exhaust route, not the visible area. First the initial condition is recorded: accessible sections by visual inspection, inaccessible sections by endoscopy, with photographic documentation. The work area, cooking appliances and surfaces with product contact are then covered, the aerosol separators are dismantled and cleaned separately, the ductwork is degreased in the direction of flow and the loosened material is extracted. The fan impeller, casing and vibration dampers are treated, and the free-movement finding at the fire dampers is recorded. Finally the inspection covers are closed tightly and a work and cleaning report is produced with photographic documentation.
Tailored to this service – aligned with site and industry.
Ductwork, fire dampers and the fan are the fire-relevant areas of the system. That is precisely where the daily clean by kitchen staff ends.
Without inspection openings, no section of duct can be cleaned, inspected or documented. Whether openings are missing has to be clarified before the work – not during it.
Food hygiene requires clean rooms and equipment; the property insurer asks about the maintenance of fire-endangered systems. A condition report serves both questions.
Process
Accessible sections are inspected visually, inaccessible ones by endoscopy. The result is a description of the condition, not merely an assessment of clean or inadequate.
Work areas, cooking appliances and surfaces with product contact are covered so that detached grease and cleaning solution do not get into the kitchen operation.
Baffle plates and aerosol separators are removed and cleaned separately. Only then does the duct access behind the hood become free.
Grease is loosened, removed mechanically and extracted together with the working medium – in the direction of flow, so that loosened material does not run back into sections that have already been cleaned.
Clean the impeller, record the visual and free-movement finding at the fire dampers, close the inspection covers tightly, reinstall the separators, produce a report with photographic documentation.
This service sits within a framework of statutory duties, technical rulebooks and operational practice. The distinction matters because it determines who is responsible for what.
The rulebooks named here describe requirements for how the work is carried out – they are not a certification held by BREREI. VDI and DIN normative texts are chargeable and were not available in full; where a statement touches the normative detail, this is noted in place.
These references describe the requirements the work is performed against. They are not a certification, inspection or approval held by BREREI.
Short answers to help you assess whether this service fits your site.
No. VDI 2052 is a private technical guideline, not a legal norm. The cleaning obligation becomes binding through other routes: the operator's duty of care, the Workplace Ordinance, basic duties under accident prevention law, the insurance contract or contractual specifications of the client. The wording 'legally required under VDI 2052' is technically incorrect; the guideline only becomes binding through these routes.
From visible signs such as grease escaping at inspection covers, odour nuisance, drip marks at the discharge point or audible imbalance of the fan – and from findings documented during a site survey or by endoscopy. Blanket layer-thickness limits are not a standardised threshold value; what matters is the documented condition of the entire exhaust route.
Not necessarily, but the work requires a time window with undisturbed access: the exhaust system must be switched off and deep fryers, grills and ranges must have cooled down. Without access to all sections, part of the ductwork remains untreated and therefore undocumented. Agree this window together with your kitchen management; there is no reliable commitment for cleaning during running operations.
Be cautious with terms such as 'certified specialist company' or 'VDI certificate' – they are not defined in any normative document. Insofar as requirements exist, they come from the insurance contract or from your tender. What you should set out there: which evidence you require (staff instructions, method descriptions), which system types the provider has already worked on, and what documentation routine you expect. Check this evidence before awarding the contract, not afterwards.
Without access, no section of the duct can be cleaned, inspected or documented. In that case it must first be clarified whether and where openings can be added – in line with the design, pressure-tight and in accordance with the requirements for maintenance-friendly air ducts. Installation only takes place after agreement with the client and, where necessary, with the designer. Clarify the access situation in the tender, therefore, from the outset.
The operator receives a work and cleaning report with the finding, the work carried out, anything unusual and photographic or video documentation. It is the basis for the operator's own documentation towards the insurer, an authority or an expert. It is not an official certificate, not a declaration of conformity and not a confirmation by the VDI. The body making the enquiry decides on recognition in the individual case.
The industry page sets out which requirements apply there.
Technical and legal classification of the topic — for operators preparing a decision.
A reliable assessment requires a site survey: system type, accessibility, the inspection-opening situation and the visible condition are recorded, and from this a description of the work required is produced. Tell us the property, the kitchen use and any existing documentation; a quotation follows the survey, and there are no advance commitments on costs or dates.
Service, property and contact details – that is all we need.
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