Warehouse
Sprinkler design against the commodity classification and storage height.
At a glance
- Hazard family
- Buildings
- Protected by
- Sprinkler, Hydrant, Fire alarm
- Designed to
- NFPA 13, IS 15105, NBC 2016 Part 4
- Ordinary hazard group 2 (general storage up to about 3.7 m)
- 8.1 L/min/m² over 139 m²
Design basis
- Ordinary hazard group 2 (general storage up to about 3.7 m)
- 8.1 L/min/m² over 139 m²NFPA 13 — density/area
- High-piled and rack storage
- Set by commodity class and storage heightNFPA 13 — storage chapters
Standards that apply
- NFPA 13Installation of sprinkler systems.
- IS 15105Design and installation of fixed automatic sprinkler systems.
- NBC 2016 Part 4Fire and life safety in buildings.
The risk
In a warehouse the fuel is the stock, and the way it is stored decides how fast a fire grows. High racking lets fire climb vertically between the loads; plastics and packaging burn hot and fast.
Large undivided floors, high roofs and full racks make a warehouse fire hard to reach, and the loss is usually the stock and the building together.
The scheme
Design to the commodity, not just the floor:
- Sprinklers designed to the commodity class and storage height, with in-rack sprinklers where the racking calls for them.
- Detection and alarm, with early warning to the people inside.
- Hydrants around the building and within it where the code requires.
Systems that apply
NFPA 13Sprinkler System
Wet, dry and pre-action systems for warehousing and buildings.
NFPA 24Fire Hydrant System
Plant-wide ring main, hydrants, monitors and hose boxes, sized to the site.
NFPA 72Fire Detection & Alarm System
Detection and alarm, supplied and integrated under the same contract as the suppression system.
Products used
Deluge Valves & Systems · 1
Deluge Valve Cast Carbon Steel (Model PD-CS)
Cast carbon steel, 80 to 200 mm, 250 psi
Spray Nozzles · 1
Sprinkler Foam-Water
Air-aspirating, upright and pendent, K-3.0
Questions we are asked
Why does storage height matter so much?
Higher stacks let fire climb faster and hide it from ceiling sprinklers. Above a certain height, in-rack sprinklers or higher densities are needed.
Does changing what we store affect the sprinklers?
It can. A move to plastics or to higher racking can take the building outside its design basis, so the design should be checked.
Which sprinkler system suits an unheated warehouse?
A dry system, whose pipework holds air rather than water and so cannot freeze.
Related hazards
Projects on this hazard
- Photography to followTata Memorial Hospital
Fire detection and alarm system — Tata Memorial Hospital
Fire detection and alarm system for Tata Memorial Hospital at Jamshedpur (JUSCO). · Jamshedpur (JUSCO)
- Photography to followGAIL
Hydrant system — GAIL
Fire hydrant system for GAIL at Vijaipur. · Vijaipur
- Photography to followTISCO
Hydrant system — TISCO
Fire hydrant system for TISCO at Noamundi. · Noamundi
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