Glendale · Fire and Food Safety
Glendale Commercial Kitchen Compliance
A commercial kitchen in Glendale answers to three agencies: the Glendale Fire Department for fire safety and the grease permit, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for food safety, and the city's Public Works Department for grease inspections. Here is who does what, and what each one expects to see.
Who Enforces Fire Code in Glendale
Glendale runs its own fire department. The Glendale Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau conducts every fire inspection inside city limits, covering more than 15,000 buildings, businesses and parcels. The bureau is at 780 Flower Street, (818) 548-4810. After an inspection, the inspector gives the business a copy of the inspection report.
Fire protection systems must be tested and certified on the intervals the department publishes. Service companies submit most test reports through The Compliance Engine, the web-based reporting service the department uses to track inspection, testing and maintenance.
The 2025 California Fire Code has been in effect statewide since January 1, 2026, and it is the path by which NFPA 96, the standard for commercial kitchen exhaust systems, applies to your hood, ducts and fan, in the edition California has adopted.
Who Inspects Food Safety in Glendale
Glendale has no health department of its own; food safety in the city is inspected by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Environmental Health division. Every inspection starts at 100 points, and each violation deducts points by its public health risk. A is 90 to 100, B is 80 to 89, and C is 70 to 79. Below 70, there is no letter: the kitchen posts a score card showing the actual number, and the card stays up until the next routine inspection.
Two scores below 70 within 12 months make a kitchen subject to closure and legal action. A single critical violation can close it regardless of the score, and a major critical risk factor not corrected by the end of the inspection suspends the health permit on the spot. The most recent inspection report must be available to any customer who asks.
What's Local: The City's Grease Permit
Every food service establishment in Glendale must hold an Industrial Waste Permit. The city folded its industrial waste program into the fire department's Environmental Management Center in 1996, and the type and size of each kitchen's grease pretreatment device is set at plan review. The Public Works Department's Wastewater section runs the fats, oils and grease program, checking maintenance records and grease removal equipment across more than 600 food service establishments, with a goal of inspecting each one at least once every 18 months.
The usable part: keep a waste manifest log book on site with three years of records. It is the proof that grease and sludge pumped from your device were legally disposed of.
Glendale Follows Los Angeles County's Framework
For how Los Angeles County inspects and publishes results, and how it compares with the rest of California, see the Los Angeles County page.