Modern concepts for protecting warehouse premises.
Modern concepts for protecting warehouse premises. Today, even warehouse premises can become an important link in a huge business chain. The main thing is to foresee their potential, using them to the maximum, and ensure fire safety of those goods and materials that are stored.
But statistics are relentless: at each warehouse, a fire occurs at least once every 4.5 years.
At the same time, 95% of warehouses are not even insured against accidents, and only 3% have a fire extinguishing system. And this is despite the fact that in many warehouses, in accordance with the Code of Rules 5.13130.2009, the mandatory installation of an automatic fire extinguishing system is required.
The design rules set out in the Code of Practice apply to racks up to 5.5 m. If the rack height exceeds the specified figure, then their design is possible according to the recommendations of the VNIIPO of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs of 1987 «Design of automatic fire extinguishing systems in high-rise rack warehouses».
In accordance with the recommendations, rack sprinklers should be used inside high-rack warehouses to protect them. However, this method requires the installation of a large number of sprinklers and pipelines, the use of additional screens, which complicates loading and unloading operations. In addition, there is a risk of damaging the sprinkler, and the use of mobile racks is excluded.
Abroad, protection with in-rack sprinklers is also used, but as an alternative, there is a protection option using sprinklers of the «ESFR» type, installed under the ceiling. In this case, the problem described above can be avoided.
JSC PO Spetsavtomatika (Biysk) offers a sprinkler developed according to the ESFR type (rapid response warehouse sprinkler). This type of sprinklers is an analogue of the foreign ESFR, which allows it to be freely used as an alternative in the development of new projects, as well as in the reconstruction of existing fire extinguishing systems. The range of sprinklers «» includes four types:
«-17-B«, «-25-B«, «С0БР-17-Н», «-25-Н» (mounting position up and down).
In order to eliminate the gaps in the existing regulatory documentation on the design of fire extinguishing systems in high-rise warehouses, the company developed special technical conditions (STU). In 2009, full-scale fire tests on extinguishing models of high-rise warehouses in various conditions and with various fire loads were conducted at the testing ground of the Federal State Institution All-Russian Research Institute of Fire Protection of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. As a result, a positive conclusion was received from VNIIPO on the STU «Design of automatic water fire extinguishing systems using sprinklers» in high-rise warehouses.
The conclusion states that the «STU reflects the entire range of necessary requirements for the high-quality design of automatic fire extinguishing systems for warehouses
objects with high-rise racks and stacked storage of material assets using quick-acting sprinklers «», mounted under the roof or ceiling of the warehouse.»
In early 2010, the STUs underwent mandatory approval for such documents in the Department of Supervisory Activities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. At a meeting of the regulatory and technical council for the approval of additional fire safety requirements not established by regulatory documents, it was concluded that «the STUs were developed in accordance with Articles 45, 51, 52, 83, 91, 104, 111, and 117 of Federal Law No. 123-FZ «Technical Regulations on Fire Safety Requirements». The Council considers it possible to agree with the technical solutions adopted in them on fire protection:
All technical solutions are described in detail in the STU. The document provides data on the maximum heights of the premises and the permissible height of storage, as well as the minimum and maximum protected area depending on the distance between sprinklers. It contains the rules and conditions for constructing water curtains in warehouses. The requirements for installing sprinklers in the presence of obstacles are given. The calculated values of the working pressure
at the sprinkler for various options for arranging sprinklers and depending on the size and nature of the fire load are indicated, as well as a lot of other useful information that will significantly facilitate the designer's work.
To date, the design and installation complex of ZAO PO Spetsavtomatika and other design organizations have successfully completed a number of projects using sprinklers «», We are confident that our new product will be appreciated by the consumer, since the sprinkler «» has a number of significant advantages in the design of automatic fire protection systems in high-rack warehouses.
Remember that a good, reliable warehouse is distinguished not only by a good location, equipment and strong locks, but also by high fire safety standards.