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🍳 Commercial Kitchen Risk · Accommodation Above

Fire Risk Assessment for Restaurants, Pubs & Takeaways

Commercial kitchens start more fires than almost any other workplace, and hospitality premises compound that with late hours, alcohol, and — very often — someone asleep upstairs. The flat above the takeaway is the single most under-assessed arrangement we encounter, and it is the one where the consequences are worst. We assess restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, takeaways and dark kitchens.

📋 Get a Fixed-Fee Quote ↓ What We Assess
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Kitchen Risk Assessed Properly

Extraction ductwork, fryers, suppression, interlocks and cleaning records — assessed where the fire would actually start.

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The Flat Above Included

If there is accommodation over the premises it is part of the assessment, because in a fire it is part of the same building.

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Fixed Fee, 48-Hour Report

Quoted within 2 hours, surveyed around your service times, and your written report within 48 hours of the visit.

Why Hospitality Is Different

The Fire Starts in the Kitchen and Finds the Stairs

The pattern is consistent enough to plan around: ignition in the cooking or extraction system, out of hours or at the end of service, spreading vertically through a building where the only staircase serves both the business and the accommodation above it.

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    Extraction ductwork is the vertical path. Grease accumulates inside the duct where nobody looks, and the duct usually runs upward through the building. Cleaning to an appropriate frequency, with records, is one of the highest-value controls in the sector and one of the most commonly neglected.
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    Deep fat fryers deserve their reputation. Thermostat failure, overfilling and unattended cooking are all routine causes. Fixed suppression over the cooking line, correct extinguishing media on hand, and staff who know not to use water are what the assessment checks.
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    Accommodation above changes the whole strategy. Whether it is a manager's flat, staff accommodation or a separately let flat, sleeping occupants above a commercial kitchen need protection: fire-resisting separation, a means of escape that does not pass through the business, and detection that will wake them. It is frequently absent.
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    Late hours and alcohol affect evacuation. Customers who have been drinking respond more slowly and are more likely to head for the entrance they know. Staff numbers at closing time are also at their lowest.
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    LPG and gas need assessing where they are stored. Cylinders in yards, under stairs or in cellars, gas isolation that nobody can locate at speed, and interlocks that were disconnected because they kept tripping.
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    The escape route is usually also the delivery route. Rear exits blocked by stock, bins, gas cylinders or crates are the most predictable finding in the sector, and the one most likely to matter at the moment it counts.

What we work through with you

Extraction system construction, grease accumulation and cleaning records · Fryer and cooking line protection and suppression · Gas supply, isolation points and interlocks · LPG storage · Escape routes from the kitchen, the dining area and any upper floors · Separation between the commercial premises and any accommodation · Detection appropriate to both parts of the building · Cellar, plant and electrical intake · Bins and external storage · Staff training, including what to do about a fryer fire · Closing-down procedures and the last-person-out check.

On Site

What We Assess in Hospitality Premises

Front of house takes minutes. The kitchen, the ductwork, the cellar and the floor above are where the time goes.

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Extraction & Ductwork

Grease accumulation through the run, access panels, cleaning frequency and whether there is any record of the last clean.

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Cooking Line & Fryers

Suppression coverage, extinguishing media appropriate to cooking oil, thermostat and interlock function, and unattended-cooking practice.

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Gas, LPG & Isolation

Cylinder storage and securing, isolation points that can be found and reached quickly, and interlocks that are still connected.

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Escape Routes & Rear Exits

Both routes out, kept clear of stock and bins, with final exits that open without a key from the inside.

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Accommodation Above

Separation, independent means of escape, and detection that will wake someone asleep over a working kitchen.

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Closing Time & Staff Procedures

Staffing at the end of service, the last-person-out check, and whether training covers the fires this sector actually gets.

In Practice

What We Most Often Find

Consistent across independents, chains and takeaways alike.

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Rear Fire Exit Blocked by Stock or Bins

The most predictable finding in hospitality, and the one most likely to matter.

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Ductwork With No Cleaning Record

Often years overdue, sometimes never cleaned since installation, and running directly past the accommodation.

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Final Exits Needing a Key

Bolted or padlocked during service because of theft. Understandable, and unlawful on an escape route while people are inside.

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The Flat Above Left Out Entirely

Assessed as a separate domestic property, or not assessed at all, when a fire would not respect that distinction.

The Stakes

Most of these businesses do not reopen

Non-compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is a criminal offence carrying unlimited fines and, in serious cases, up to two years’ imprisonment, and hospitality is a sector where enforcement is active. A prohibition notice can stop you trading immediately. The commercial reality behind the legal one is starker still: a serious kitchen fire closes the premises for months, and a significant share of small hospitality businesses that suffer one never reopen.

Tell Us About the Premises. Fixed Fee in 2 Hours.

Property type, rough size, number of storeys and what it is used for is enough for us to quote. Survey within days, and your written report within 48 hours of the visit.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does a small takeaway need a fire risk assessment?
Yes. Any premises where people are employed, or which the public enter, falls under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Size is not a defence, and since section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force on 1 October 2023 the assessment must be recorded in writing in full together with the identity of the person who carried it out — including for premises with very few staff.
Does the flat above the shop need to be included?
The flat's own interior is domestic premises, but the building it sits in is not a separate problem. If there is accommodation above a commercial kitchen, the assessment must address the separation between them, the means of escape for the occupants, and detection that would wake them. Where the accommodation is let, the landlord has duties as well. This arrangement is the one we most often find inadequately covered, and it is the one where the consequences are most serious.
How often should kitchen extraction ductwork be cleaned?
It depends on how heavily and how often you cook: a premises frying all day needs it far more often than one serving light meals a few evenings a week. What matters for the assessment is that a frequency has been set on a sensible basis, that the cleaning is actually happening, and that there are records to show it. Insurers ask for those records, and a great many premises cannot produce them.
What fire extinguisher do we need for a deep fat fryer?
A wet chemical extinguisher is the appropriate portable provision for cooking oils and fats. Water, foam and CO2 are not — water on burning oil is actively dangerous, and staff need to know that rather than simply having the right cylinder on the wall. Where there is a substantial cooking line, fixed suppression over it is normally the more important control, and the assessment will say where that is warranted.
Can we lock the fire exit during service because of theft?
Not in a way that prevents escape. An exit that requires a key while people are on the premises is a significant failing and one that enforcing officers act on. There are lawful alternatives — panic hardware, alarmed push bars, keyless devices — that address the security concern without compromising escape, and the assessment will specify what suits your layout.
Do you assess pubs with letting rooms?
Yes, and they need particular care. A commercial kitchen and a bar below, sleeping guests above, a late licence and often a single staircase serving both is among the higher-risk arrangements in hospitality. We assess it as one building. If letting rooms are the main part of your business, our page on hotels and guest houses covers that side in more detail.
When can you survey without disrupting service?
We work around your trading hours — mornings before service, afternoons between sittings, or closed days. The kitchen inspection is the part that needs the kitchen quiet, so we usually schedule that first. The written report follows within 48 hours of the visit.
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