San Bernardino · Fire and Food Safety
San Bernardino Commercial Kitchen Compliance
A commercial kitchen in the City of San Bernardino answers to three agencies: the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District for fire safety, San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services for food safety, and the San Bernardino Municipal Water Department for grease. Here is who does what, and what each one expects to see.
Who Enforces Fire Code in San Bernardino
Fire code in the City of San Bernardino is enforced by the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, which took over fire protection in the city through annexation in 2016. The district covers roughly 19,000 square miles and more than 60 communities across the county, organized into mountain, north desert, south desert and valley service zones.
The district enforces the California Fire Code with its local amendments. 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 a county 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 San Bernardino
Food safety in San Bernardino is inspected by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health's Division of Environmental Health Services. A health permit comes with two routine inspections a year, and each inspection produces a score and a letter grade card that must be posted at the front of the restaurant. The card stays valid until the next routine inspection or a re-score.
The usable part is the re-score. A kitchen that receives a B can ask for one to improve its grade. When the county requires a re-score, the kitchen must correct everything on the inspection report and request the re-score in writing within 30 days, and the county completes it within 10 county business days. Missing that 30-day window, or failing to reach at least a B on the re-score, can close the kitchen until it does.
What's Local: The Water Department's Grease Rules
The San Bernardino Municipal Water Department runs the city's sewer and its water reclamation plant, which receives about 22 million gallons of wastewater a day. Its Environmental Control Section enforces the pretreatment rules for commercial dischargers, including food service, under the department's Rule and Regulation No. 26 on wastewater facility and non-domestic discharge permits, with permitting requirements, inspections and discharge limits.
The usable part: the department's discharge permit application asks for the size and location of your grease interceptor, whether it has a sample box, and who your waste hauler is. Have all three answered, and the hauler's pumping records on file, before the application goes in.
San Bernardino Follows San Bernardino County's Framework
For how San Bernardino County grades and publishes inspections, and how it compares with the rest of California, see the San Bernardino County page.