In wake of tragic fire, new rules for restaurant kitchen vent cleaners

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Commercial kitchen grease cleaners who work in Boston restaurants soon will have to undergo training or testing to prove they are qualified, under an ordinance approved unanimously today by the Boston City Council.

The rules require restaurants to have their kitchen hoods and vent systems cleaned between one and four times a year, depending on the type of restaurant. And the cleaning companies must be licensed by the city.

In order to be licensed, a cleaning company must be certified by an organization approved by the city, and that certification will potentially require expensive training. To keep the certification within reach for smaller, established companies, the ordinance was changed to allow those companies to take an exam, as an alternative to paying for the training.

The law is a reaction to the death of two West Roxbury firefighters in an August restaurant fire that started in a grease-clogged kitchen vent. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who offered an earlier version of the ordinance, must sign the Council's version for it to become law.

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