Anaheim · Fire and Food Safety
Anaheim Commercial Kitchen Compliance
A commercial kitchen in Anaheim answers to three agencies: Anaheim Fire & Rescue for fire safety, the Orange County Health Care Agency for food safety, and the city's Public Works Department for grease. Here is who does what, and what each one expects to see.
Who Enforces Fire Code in Anaheim
Inside city limits, fire code is enforced by Anaheim Fire & Rescue's Community Risk Reduction Division, under the Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal. Its Fire and Life Safety Section conducts fire safety inspections and issues fire code permits for businesses across the city.
The city adopts the California Fire Code, with its own local amendments, in Chapter 16.08 of the Anaheim Municipal Code. 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.
In practice, that means an Anaheim fire inspector can ask for proof that your exhaust system is cleaned on the frequency your cooking calls for, and that your suppression system has been serviced on schedule. The record is what answers that question, not the memory of the last visit.
Who Inspects Food Safety in Anaheim
Food safety in Anaheim is inspected by the Orange County Health Care Agency's Environmental Health Division. Orange County posts no letter grade and no score. Every inspection ends with one of three seals in the window: Pass; Reinspection Due-Pass, meaning violations that could cause foodborne illness were found and corrected, with a follow-up on the date printed on the seal; or Closed.
A Closed seal means a violation posed an imminent danger to public health and could not be corrected on the spot, and the health permit is suspended until the county verifies the fix. A follow-up reinspection usually comes within two weeks, and a second or later reinspection is billed to the kitchen. The most recent inspection report must be available to any customer who asks.
What's Local: The City's Grease Rules
Anaheim regulates grease from food service establishments under section 10.08.100 of the Anaheim Municipal Code, through the Public Works Department's Fats, Oils and Grease Source Control Program. The code draws hard lines at the drain: no dishwasher discharge into a grease interceptor or trap, no water hotter than 140°F into one, and no toilets or other sanitary fixtures upstream of it.
The usable part: biological or enzyme additives are prohibited in a grease control device without the program manager's written authorization in advance, and grease pumped out must leave with a waste hauler, never go back down the sewer. If your service vendor adds a treatment product, get the city's approval in writing first.
Anaheim Follows Orange County's Framework
For how Orange County inspects and publishes results, and how it compares with the rest of California, see the Orange County page.