Fire Risks at Warehouses & Logistics-and Solutions

Goods have to be available around the clock today – in many cases on a just-in-time basis. Modern high-bay storage facilities are designed with these new requirements in mind. As a result however, the vulnerability of countless production processes has also increased: due to this concentration within single, large logistics sites, there is a much greater risk of the entire value-generation and delivery chain coming to a halt in the event of fire. So downtime must be avoided at all costs. Risk analysis Technical faults in electrical equipment, switch cabinets and control cabinets, electric motors and the associated batteries, cooling arrays for frozen storage facilities, defrosters and welding and cutting/grinding work during repairs all increase the risk of fire Material can be brought in that harbours sparks, which then develop unnoticed before resulting in a sudden surface fire after several hours Hot-shrink packaging films, pallets and irradiated goods can also cause a fire High fire load due to the presence of packaging films and board, wooden pallets and plastic containers Accelerated fire propagation due to rising combustion gases in the narrow aisles, which may lead to fire penetration right up to the level of the underside of the warehouse ceiling within a very short space of time Poor access for fire-fighting activities due to the confined construction and warehouse height, danger of collapse and falling objects Protection goal To maintain delivery capability and goods availability without interruptions No damage to the goods and systems by fire, soot or the water used to put out the fire Permanent fire safety without restricting staff movements, use of the building, or influencing the goods, the flow of goods and the warehouse equipment Solutions A customer-specific fire safety package from a single-source vendor: ranging from the fire prevention system on its own, or the highly sensitive early-warning fire detection system in combination with fire-fighting system as a rapid mitigation measure, to integrated hazard management. Fire protection: Extinguishing the fire in its initial phase and opening up escape routes is the key fire protection objective. Sprinkler systems detect fires, activate an alarm and extinguish fires automatically, thus providing reliable, round-the-clock protection. A network of pipes and sprinklers runs through all areas of the building that need to be protected. When the system is in operational readiness, a liquid-filled bulb seals the sprinkler. The rise in temperature underneath the sprinkler causes the glass bulb to break in the event of fire. The pressurized extinguishing water flows into the sprinkler, where the deflector evenly distributes the water throughout the extinguishing area.  The extinguishing water tackles flames and prevents the fire from spreading by cooling the surrounding area. In public areas which also have a low fire load, water mist systems are used. Optimised (special) sprinklers reduce the amount of water used by up to 85%. Fire prevention system  A hydrant system along with fire retardant cable coating and Fire Stops to protect fire from spreading along the cables and extinguishers for manual extinguishing complete the range of fire protection equipment for public areas. Immediate reduction in oxygen content - immediate increase in safety: fires have no chance against   Cable rooms and galleries Whether for power supply or data transmission, countless cables are needed to power a hospital. To protect the cables and make servicing easier, they run along ducts and are bundled in cable rooms or galleries. Fires usually start due to lines overheating, and smouldering insulation causes short circuits. A smouldering fire – very difficult to put out from the outside – can destroy entire electrical installations, resulting in the loss of entire departments. Risks: Risk to vital lifelines of individual hospital sectors. Conventional extinguishing methods are unable to prevent the fire from spreading. Damage soon gets out of hand if the fire is detected too late. Fire protection: GITS fire protection for cable channels takes into account the high risk of a fire spreading. Smoke detectors, smoke suction systems and linear heat detectors are used for automatic detection in winding and often inaccessible cable channels. The GITS low-pressure water mist system has been specifically designed for both existing channels and newly built cable channels. this system protects against consequential damage by only using a small amount of water. Fire extinguishing systems are also useful in cable rooms and galleries along with fire retardant cable coating and Fire Stops to protect fire from spreading along the cables. IT areas These are now full of computers and servers for saving important data for the administration and are especially at risk if there is a fire. Risks: Faulty or overloaded electronic components can easily cause a smouldering fire or open-flame fire. Fire protection: The Novec 1230 fire extinguishing system can be adapted to each individual area; nozzle holes and container filling quantities are the result of object specific design calculations and the hallmark of a system which has been optimised down to the smallest detail. Because of the charging pressure of up to 50 bar, multi-zone systems and longer pipes can be installed. No separate room is required to supply the extinguishing agent; this can take place in the protected area itself. The extinguishing agent, NovecTM 1230, is colourless and virtually odourless, and gaseous at room temperature. Its molecules are composed of carbon, fl uorine and oxygen. NovecTM 1230 deprives the flame of heat, thereby interrupting the combustion reaction. Transformers The energy requirement of warehouses is significant, with a safe supply being vital so are therefore usually connected to the power supply via their own transformers. Risks: Short circuits, overheating and leaking oil from the oil-cooled large-scale equipment can ignite. The Buchholz relay on the power transformers reacts in such cases by disconnecting, and usually hands over to a second transformer so as not to interrupt the power supply. Fire protection: The water spray extinguishing system – activated by the Detectors like HVWS (High velocity water spray system and Nitrogen system – extinguishes the defective transformer and cools it down. High sensitivity early-warning fire detection Up to 2000 times more sensitive than traditional smoke detectors like VESDA or Video Smoke detection system. Maintenance and servicing: optimum service for sustainable safety Regular inspections are a fundamental requirement in order to guarantee the perfect functioning of fire protection systems whilst ensuring full operational readiness at all times. GITS Service offers the prompt inspection of all fire protection and extinguishing systems in strict accordance with applicable legislation. Such equipment is checked, maintained and, in the event of a fault, repaired with meticulous care by specially trained GITS staff members. In addition to system servicing, specific initiatives and programmes exist to ensure that all protective equipment continues to function correctly and corresponds to the latest technological developments – even after years on standby. Legislation requires operators to carry out continuous monitoring procedures on their fire protection systems. If faults are identified, rapid reactions are called for. GITS offers round-the-clock safety with a sophisticated fault signal management system to ensure that errors and faults are always remedied at top speed, regardless of their location.