In August 1998, numerous changes were incorporated into the National Fire Protection Association 96 Standard for Commercial Cooking Operations.

NFPA 96 4-8-.2.1 states:

Rooftop terminations shall be arranged with or provided with the following:
(c) “The ability to drain grease out of any traps or low points formed in the fan or
duct near the terminations of the system into a collection container that is noncombustible, closed, rainproof, structurally sound for the service to which it is applied, and will not sustain combustion. A grease collection device that is applied to exhaust systems shall not inhibit the performance of any fan.” Exception: Grease containers that are evaluated for equivalency with the preceding requirements and listed as such.

“NFPA 96 has some very vague wording in their code concerning the requirements for grease containment systems,” states Daniel P. Restelli, P.E., Engineering Group Leader for Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. and member of the NFPA 96 committee. “Therefore, Underwriters Laboratories developed strict requirements that address the overall principles of NFPA 96 for our testing of these products. I’m not saying other products aren’t good, but in this particular case independent third-party lab has looked at a product and has certified it as complying with the published requirements that are generically accepted by the code. We also provide documentation that the product meets all the requirements.”

The real issue is that many of the products on market create more of fire hazard than the grease itself. “Any product can claim to be NFPA 96 compliant,” Restelli remarks. “By having a third-party independent lab conduct the tests, however, proves the product is compliant.” Simply stating that a product meets NFPA 96 code does not guarantee it has been tested for full compliance with those codes.

Underwriters Laboratories also inspects the manufacturing facilities a minimum of four times each year to ensure they are in compliance with UL requirements and that the product is being built the same as when it was tested. Plus, they make sure the product bears the UL service mark as well as a date code when the product was manufactured for service.