Smokin’ mad at restaurant
Fire new reason to vent
The hip Brooklyn restaurant Metta, notorious for belching smoke all over its Fort Greene neighborhood, caught fire because — surprise — the owners weren’t cleaning their smoke vents, an expert claims.
Flames broke out in the restaurant’s ductwork at about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, FDNY officials said.
The blaze was sparked by a build-up of soot and grease that should have been cleaned months ago, according to Russell Irby of RJI Exhaust Ventilation Hood & Duct Cleaning, who cleans the vents for the restaurant.
“That’s why it caught on fire — because they didn’t clean,” he said. “Once you start skipping, it builds up. This is what I told [the owners]: I said you’re not complying with the Fire Department rules.”
Irby said that he last cleaned the vents in midMay and that no one else had been by since. FDNY regulations require eateries to scrub their ducts at least once every three months.
The FDNY said it’s probing the cause of the fire.
Irby said he recommended monthly cleaning, because the restaurant’s style of cooking practically everything over an open flame creates more greasy smoke.
The restaurant insisted Wednesday that its “choice of fuel does not increase or decrease the possibility of a duct fire.”
The ventilation system is designed to carry smoke from the restaurant to the roof of its three-story Adel- phi Street building.
Neighbors who live in brownstones nearby have complained for months about Metta’s smoke.
“They are not responsible,” Virginia Priest, 55, said. “They are not taking this situation seriously.”
The city cited Metta in May for a dirty kitchen exhaust, and hit the restaurant with a $1,280 fine on Aug. 20 for improperly installing the ductwork.
“Metta has taken the issue seriously and engaged our neighbors continuously,” the eatery said in a statement Wednesday. “We’ve invested considerably in state-of-the-art equipment over and beyond what is required.”