Boston hood cleaning report and sticker (Boston Fire Department)

Who can clean in Boston

The BFD, Inspectional Services and the Health Department set conditions for exhaust cleaners and inspectors working in the city. Applicants pass an exam based on the current NFPA 96 recognised by Massachusetts, administered by IKECA or another agency the BFD lists, and document 500 work hours of cleaning and inspecting experience, or attendance at an approved training school instead. Registration is renewed every year; the application fee listed in the BFD instructions is $25, and renewal forms go out around December 1. The BFD publishes a list of registered cleaners and inspectors.

What the BFD sample report asks

The BFD’s sample report (dated August 2010, still the version linked on boston.gov) has a header and Section A:

• Header: business name, address and phone; the cleaning company with its 24-hour emergency service phone; the technician’s name, signature, date, BFD registration number and its expiration date
• Grease load: under 2,000 microns in the horizontal duct, vertical duct and hood, and under 3,175 microns in the fan
• Filters, precipitators or pollution control devices, fan louvers, fans, grease cups, horizontal and vertical ducts cleaned or inspected
• The last cleaning date and company, or "not available"
• An on-site exhaust system diagram posted and accurate, and the whole system cleaned or inspected as it shows
• The certificate of performance dated and placed near the hood
• Filters in place, wash system valve open, fans running, belts and pulleys, liquid-tight system
• Enough access panels, panel signage, all areas accessible, no obstructions, and whether the cleaning complied with NFPA 96
• Type of cooking (solid fuel, wok, charbroil, other) and the owner representative’s name, date and signature

The deficiency page

Any "No" answer means filling in page 2: additional comments and a table of deficiencies by section and item number. The current boston.gov copy of the form says to scan and email a completed copy to the BFD at exhaust.bfd-hood@boston.gov within 5 business days; the older copy gave a mailing address and fax. The BFD’s exhaust cleaning page adds that deficiency reports go to the establishment and to Fire Prevention when NFPA 96 repairs are not made or there is no on-site exhaust system diagram, and that cleaners report customers who don’t renew their contract or weren’t cleaned by the scheduled date.

The sticker

The BFD’s sticker instructions set the format:

• 5.5 × 4.25 inches, placed visibly in the immediate vicinity of the hood
• Colour by the NFPA 96 cleaning schedule: white monthly, yellow quarterly, blue semi-annual, green annual
• Pre-printed with the company name, full address and 24-hour emergency phone
• Marked inspected and/or cleaned, with the date completed, the expiration month and the areas not cleaned
• A deficiencies YES / NO box; when YES, the box pointing to the service report is marked too
• The employee prints their BFD registration number and name on it

What can cost a registration

The BFD’s policy lists grounds for suspension or revocation, including fires from improper cleaning, excess grease found by an inspector, not reporting missing access panels, a missing system diagram, overdue or cancelled customers, the wrong sticker colour, and placing a sticker before the cleaning is complete.

How Stampario fills it

• Massachusetts companies get the Boston layout as their hood report: header with the 24-hour emergency phone, BFD registration number and expiry, which carry to your next report.
• Section A is a numbered Yes / No / N/A checklist (items 1 to 21) with a comment per item, plus the last service date and company and the type of cooking.
• When any answer is No, the deficiency table (Section / Item # / Description) appears and is required, with a note about the 5-business-day copy to the BFD.
• Picking the cleaning schedule shows the sticker colour, and "inspected / cleaned", "areas not cleaned" and the next due date are on the report, so writing the sticker takes seconds.
• It ends with the technician’s and the owner representative’s signatures. Stampario doesn’t print the BFD sticker or send the deficiency copy for you.