Fire, insurance & risk
Your assessment names the risk; your certificates prove it's controlled. Here's how to link them into one trail that actually holds up.
The short answer
A fire risk assessment and your TR19 cleaning records are stronger together than apart. The assessment should name the extract system as a fire risk, state the cleaning interval as the control, and say where the certificates are kept; each clean should then feed back into the assessment. Linked, they form one defensible trail; separate, each looks like an unfinished half of the story.
Why they belong together
A fire risk assessment identifies hazards and the controls that manage them. Grease in the extract system is one of the most significant fire hazards in any kitchen, so a competent assessment names it - and names the control, which is cleaning to TR19 at a set interval. But the assessment only says the control exists. Your cleaning records are what prove it is actually happening.
On their own, each is incomplete. An assessment that specifies TR19 cleaning but points to no certificates is an unproven claim; a stack of certificates with no assessment tying them to an identified risk is evidence with no context. Cross-referenced, the assessment sets the requirement and the certificates discharge it - which is exactly the coherent story an enforcing officer or insurer wants to see.
How to link them
Linking the two is practical, not paperwork for its own sake. The assessment should name the extract system as a hazard, state the cleaning interval as the control, and record where the TR19 certificates are held. Each post-clean report and certificate then feeds back: readings that show grease building faster than expected should trigger a review of the interval in the assessment. Any actions the assessment raises - installing access panels, servicing a fire damper - are tracked through to completion and evidenced.
Keep it all in one place. Consolidating the assessment, the certificates, the readings and the action log into a single compliance record means the whole trail can be produced in minutes, not dug out of separate folders after an incident. That retrievability is often what separates a defensible position from a scramble.
Closing the loop
The link is only useful if it stays live. Review the assessment when cleaning findings change the risk, when the kitchen's use changes, and at least as often as your policy or guidance expects. Make sure the certificate interval in the assessment matches the interval you are actually cleaning to - and both match what your insurer requires. A mismatch between what the assessment says and what the records show is exactly the gap an investigator will find.
Done well, the assessment and the certificates reinforce each other: the paperwork proves the risk named in the assessment is under control, and the assessment gives the paperwork its purpose.
Questions
Yes. A competent assessment names the extract system as a fire hazard, states cleaning to TR19 at a set interval as the control, and records where the certificates are held.
The assessment sets the requirement; the certificates prove it is met. Apart, each is incomplete. Cross-referenced, they form one coherent, defensible trail for enforcing officers and insurers.
Name the extract hazard and interval in the assessment, point to where certificates are kept, feed each post-clean report back into the review, and track any actions - like access panels or damper servicing - through to completion.
When cleaning findings change the risk, when the kitchen's use changes, and at least as often as your policy or guidance expects. Keep the stated interval matching what you actually clean to.
In one consolidated compliance record, so the assessment, certificates, readings and action log can be produced together in minutes rather than dug out separately after an incident.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We supply certificates and readings that slot straight into your fire risk assessment.