The fire inspector — the authority having jurisdiction, in the standard’s language — is who enforces NFPA 96 in your kitchen. Exhaust-system citations are among the most common and most avoidable findings in commercial kitchens, and in some jurisdictions an out-of-compliance system is grounds for immediate closure. Here’s how to walk in ready.
We’re a local referral service for commercial kitchens. Call or send the form and we’ll connect you with a trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning company serving Lexington — one that cleans the full system to NFPA 96 and leaves you the documentation your fire inspector and insurer expect. No charge for the referral.
The sticker: the service date on your hood against your cleaning tier. The file: your cleaning documentation — company, dates, areas cleaned and not cleaned, technician information, signed certification. The hood and filters: visible grease, filter condition and orientation, grease cups. The duct and fan: often a look at access panels and the rooftop unit, and grease containment. The suppression system: a separate inspection schedule, but the same visit — keep those tags current too.
One physical folder (and a digital copy) at the manager’s station: every cleaning report in date order, the before/after photos, the sticker history, and your suppression-system inspection tags. When the inspector asks, you hand it over. Missing records create compliance problems even when the system is clean — the standard requires the documentation, not just the result.
Confirm your tier and your last service date. If the next cleaning is due within the window — or the sticker is older than your tier allows — schedule it now, not after the visit. Walk the hood yourself: wipe a finger inside the canopy; look at the filters; look up. Check the rooftop fan area for grease pooling. Make sure the binder is complete. A compliant cleaning the week before an inspection isn’t gaming anything — it’s what the schedule was for.
A citation for exhaust-system grease is fixable on a deadline: a full compliant cleaning with documentation clears it. We’ll connect you with a company that works re-inspection timelines. Bring the citation language — it tells the cleaner exactly what the inspector wants to see.
We’re a local referral service for commercial kitchens. Call or send the form and we’ll connect you with a trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning company serving Lexington — one that cleans the full system to NFPA 96 and leaves you the documentation your fire inspector and insurer expect. No charge for the referral.
Lexington Hood Cleaning — Connecting Lexington restaurants and commercial kitchens with trained, insured kitchen exhaust cleaning companies.
Serving Lexington, Nicholasville, Georgetown, Versailles, Winchester, Richmond, Frankfort, and Central Kentucky.
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Information on this site is general guidance on NFPA 96 and commercial kitchen exhaust maintenance, not a compliance determination for your specific kitchen — your local fire authority makes that call. Lexington Hood Cleaning is a referral service and does not itself perform exhaust cleaning, inspection, or certification.