Tuesday, July 7, 2009 —DENVER, COLORADO— When kitchens are located in multi-story buildings or in basements where there is no access to a roof, Nationwide Fire Protection Corp. recommends using ventless hood systems rather than vented ones.

Ventless hood systems eliminate the need for running ducts through buildings and onto roofs, or out the sides of buildings, said Massoud Farazandeh, general manager of Nationwide Fire Protection Corp., an affiliate of American Professional Services (APS-Hoods), which recently opened a satellite location in Orange County, CA. NFP has installed Long Beach fire alarm systems, as well as commercial kitchen hoods, for more than 20 years.
Farazandeh began promoting ventless hoods to clients inquiring about his company’s hood sales services after encountering several instances recently where the ventless systems were the only options for some commercial cooking operations.

The most recent occurrence was in a multi-story building in Los Angeles, Farazandeh said. A law firm that occupied several floors of the building had an area where food was prepared for employees. The local fire department cited them for the operation, stating that it violated fire and building codes to cook food in the facility without a kitchen hood. The law firm turned to APS-Hoods for a solution.

“There was no room anywhere to run a duct up to the roof or even out the side of the building because of where the facility was located within the building,” he said. “Their only option was to go with a ventless hood system, because it’s the only legal way to have a fire-protected commercial hood in place that meets all existing building and fire protection codes.”

The law firm’s representatives had been worried about how to resolve the issue and were relieved to learn that there was a viable option, Farazandeh said. Because the cooking equipment was electric and not gas, the ventless hood was possible.

A ventless hood system does not require a vent to remove smoke, fumes and steam from the air in a kitchen, Farazandeh said. Instead, the system uses a sophisticated filtering system to clean the air while it is recirculated. The system frequently has an electrostatic filter that collects particles by using gas or air to create an electric charge to attract the particles, similar to static electricity on clothing. Odors are eliminated with the use of a charcoal filter. When used together, the filters make a ventless hood nearly as effective as a vented hood. A UV package also can be added to the system, which disintegrates the grease.
“This is a feature that environmentalists really like,” he said.

Although typically seen as the hood of last resort, ventless kitchen hoods actually have some advantages over traditional vented hoods, Farazandeh said. Because there is no ductwork leading up to the roof or out the side of a building, ventless kitchen hoods easily can be moved to other locations in the kitchen when needed. For example, if a restaurant undergoes a kitchen renovation and determines the space can be utilized better by moving equipment, moving the stove and hood does not require running new ductwork to the roof and installing new vents.

Ventless hoods also make it possible for restaurant owners to consider commercial spaces that otherwise would be out of the question, Farazandeh said. Particularly when it comes to densely populated areas such as big cities, ventless hood systems make it possible for restaurants to locate on ground floors of buildings, in basements or in areas where building limitations or city codes prohibit running a duct and vent outside the building to clear the kitchen of smoke and fumes.

The disadvantages to ventless hoods are that they only can be used with electrical equipment and many restaurants use gas in their cooking processes, he said. The filtering system in ventless hoods requires frequent cleaning- more frequent than vented systems. Filters also must be periodically replaced.

“All of the grease is right there in the filtering system,” Farazandeh said. “We recommend that facilities who use their kitchens fives days a week have the systems cleaned on a monthly basis.”

Learn More
For more information about Long Beach, CA fire protection equipment or other services offered by APS-Hoods, call (800) 750-7055, or visit the company’s Web site: www.nationwidefireprotection.com.

About Nationwide Fire Protection Corp.
Chief Executive Officer Massoud Farazandeh founded Nationwide Fire Protection Corp. in 1989 and grew the business into a national leader in fire protection and hood cleaning of restaurants and facilities. The company’s comprehensive service offerings enable businesses to do what they do best, which is to focus on their customers and their business. In turn, NFP focuses on what it knows best- keeping businesses in compliance and ensuring the safety of restaurants, staff and patrons.

NFP prides itself on providing exemplary service, offers a quality guarantee and maintains a dependable and highly qualified staff. All crew members are professionally trained to comply with the  National Fire Prevention Association Standards and state and local codes.
Nationwide Fire Protection is fully insured and bonded. It is licensed in fire protection contracting in addition to our licensure in the mechanical and electrical fields.

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