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Restaurant and Kitchen Fires: A Persistent Commercial Risk
Commercial kitchens and food service premises are among the highest fire-risk workplaces in the UK. In 2024/25, 1,275 fires were recorded in food and drink premises — restaurants, cafes, commercial kitchens, and takeaway outlets — accounting for approximately 19% of all UK workplace fires. That makes the food and drink sector the second most fire-prone workplace category after industrial premises.
The reasons are well understood: cooking equipment operating at high temperatures for extended periods, cooking fats and oils with low flash points, grease accumulation in extraction systems, the time pressure of busy service periods, and staff whose attention is focused on food production rather than hazard monitoring. Together these create conditions in which fire can develop quickly and spread rapidly.
For the broader context see our Fire Statistics UK: The Definitive Guide and Workplace Fire Statistics UK.
Key Facts & Figures (Overview)
- 1,275 fires in food and drink premises in 2024/25 — approximately 19% of all UK workplace fires
- Food and drink premises are the second highest-risk workplace sector after industrial premises
- Cooking is the leading cause of fires in restaurants, cafes, and commercial kitchens
- Cooking accounts for approximately 25% of all restaurant fires — and approximately 41% of care home fires where cooking also dominates
- Commercial kitchen fires are disproportionately linked to cooking fat and oil fires — the most dangerous category for rapid spread and flame height
- Electrical distribution faults contribute a significant secondary share of food and drink premises fires
- UK workplace fires have fallen 29% over ten years — but food and drink premises still represent nearly one in five of all workplace incidents
- UK businesses make fire insurance claims of approximately £940 million annually — restaurants and food service establishments contribute a disproportionate share relative to their number
- The average major fire costs a UK business £657,074 — in a restaurant, this typically means structural damage, total kitchen equipment loss, spoiled stock, business interruption, and reputational damage
- Only 58% of fire safety audits in England in 2024/25 were satisfactory — and restaurants, takeaways, and food service premises are regular subjects of enforcement action
- Arson targeted hospitality premises at a rate of approximately 400 incidents in 2024, making deliberate fire a significant element of the overall hospitality fire risk picture
Commercial Kitchen Fire Causes
Fires in commercial kitchens and restaurants originate from a smaller set of causes than fires in other sectors, with cooking-related ignition dramatically dominant:
Cooking fat and oil fires: The primary killer in commercial kitchen fire incidents. Cooking oil left unattended on high heat, or subjected to water (which causes violent steam explosion and flaming), generates fires that can reach extreme temperatures within seconds. Class F fire extinguishers and commercial kitchen fire suppression systems are specifically designed for this fire type — standard CO2 or powder extinguishers are ineffective and can make fat fires worse.
Grill and fryer fires: Fryers in particular carry sustained fire risk from oil temperature management failures and residue accumulation. Regular cleaning and thermostat maintenance are primary controls.
Oven and range fires: Grease accumulation within ovens, behind ranges, and in the spaces beneath equipment is a persistent ignition source. Grease that has accumulated for weeks or months can ignite from routine cooking temperatures.
Extraction systems: Grease accumulation within ventilation ductwork and extraction canopies is one of the most significant fire risk factors in any commercial kitchen. Duct fires — where accumulated grease ignites and spreads through ductwork throughout the building — can be particularly severe and are difficult to suppress. Regular professional cleaning of extraction systems is a legal requirement and a primary fire prevention obligation.
Electrical faults in catering equipment: Commercial kitchen equipment — ovens, mixers, dishwashers, and refrigeration units — operates under heavy load in high-temperature, high-humidity environments that accelerate electrical deterioration.
Legal Requirements for Restaurant Fire Safety
All food service premises are subject to the full requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005:
Fire risk assessment: A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment must be carried out, kept current, and reviewed whenever significant changes occur. For a restaurant, this must specifically address cooking equipment, extraction systems, cooking fat storage, and the management of staff during service.
Fire detection and alarm: An appropriate fire detection and alarm system must be installed, maintained, and tested regularly. Commercial kitchens present specific challenges for fire detection — cooking fumes and steam will generate false alarms from standard smoke detectors, requiring appropriately specified detectors (typically heat detectors in cooking areas) to balance detection sensitivity with false alarm management.
Extraction system cleaning: Grease accumulation in extraction systems is both a fire risk and a regulatory compliance issue. The Responsible Person must ensure extraction systems are cleaned at frequencies consistent with the level of cooking activity — typically every 3–12 months.
Staff fire safety training: All staff must receive adequate fire safety information and training. This includes fire emergency procedures, evacuation routes, the use of appropriate fire suppression equipment for kitchen fires, and — critically — the importance of never using water on a cooking fat fire.
Fire marshals: The RRO requires the Responsible Person to nominate and train sufficient fire marshals for the premises.
The Arson Dimension in Hospitality
CheckFire's analysis of Home Office data identified approximately 400 deliberate fire incidents in hospitality premises in 2024 — making arson a significant component of the total hospitality fire picture. Motivations include revenge by former employees or customers, competitive sabotage, and opportunistic targeting of premises with accessible combustible materials (outdoor furniture, bins, deliveries).
Physical security measures — access control, removal or securing of combustible materials left outside, CCTV, and security lighting — are important complementary measures to the broader fire safety programme. For full arson data see our Arson Statistics UK guide.
Enforcement Activity
Restaurants and food service premises are among the sectors most regularly subject to fire safety enforcement:
- Enforcement notices issued most commonly to shops (211) and care homes (192) in 2024/25, with food service premises featuring significantly across the broader enforcement caseload
- A 79% rise in fire safety prosecutions in 2023/24 reflects increasingly assertive FRS enforcement across all sectors including hospitality
- Common enforcement failures in restaurant settings include blocked fire exits (particularly rear exits used as storage), inadequate fire risk assessments that fail to address kitchen-specific hazards, and fire door deficiencies
Written by Fire Safety Experts
This guide was produced by the team at Fire Marshal Training, a UK provider of RoSPA and CPD-accredited fire safety training. Restaurant and catering environments require fire marshals with specific knowledge of kitchen fire risks and the correct emergency response to cooking fat fires. Our training equips food service fire marshals and managers with that sector-specific knowledge. For related data see our Fire Statistics UK: The Definitive Guide, Workplace Fire Statistics UK, Arson Statistics UK, and Fire Safety Prosecution Statistics UK.
