High-volume, low-speed (HVLS) fans require little energy to ventilate large commercial and industrial buildings, and their use can result in considerable cost savings to business owners. But do they compromise fire safety? What are the codes requiring? Read more…
The International Code Council is offering seminars on the 2009 International Fire Code (IFC) on September 7th 2010 and October 21st 2010 with respect to the hazards associated with high-piled combustible storage. Scott Stookey, ICC, will introduce provisions in Chapter 23 of the 2009 edition of the International Fire Code and discuss them in context with design criteria in NFPA 13 for storage. Read more…
March 2010. Klausbruckner & Associates is announcing a three-part series of “High-Piled Storage” seminars. Presented are methods of protecting rack storage, palletized storage, solid pile storage, and shelf storage of commodities. Included are recommendations on high-piled plan review procedures. Issues such as solid shelfing on racks and specific application including retail and wholesale protection options are discussed. In addition flow charts are provided to aid in the understanding of NFPA 13 applications. see section Upcoming Seminars
K&A High-piled storage presentation geared towards commercial real estate brokers. Presenting general commodity classification and requirements in the California Fire Code pertaining to high-piled storage, rack storage, and warehousing. Presenting, based on experience, practical solutions to issues real estate agents face in advertisement and leasing off commercial shell buildings and warehouse buildings. see section Upcoming Seminars
Video courtesy of Tyco: K-25 ESFR sprinklers showing fire extinguishment of a 15 m (45 ft) tall high-piled storage.
Video courtesy of Tyco: K-17 ESFR sprinklers showing fire extinguishment of a 10 m (30 ft) tall high-piled storage (Cartoned Group A Plastics).
According to OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board1 over the last 35 years more than 450 accidents involving dust have killed nearly 130 workers and injured more than 800. Between the years of 2008 and 2012 alone, a total of 50 combustible dust accidents2 [...]
ESFR protection of exposed expanded Group A plastics is currently outside the scope of NFPA 13. Attempting to fill this gap, NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation set out to develop experience with these types of commodities and gather data by initiating large-scale fire tests. The [...]
FM Global updated their Data Sheet 8-9 with new high-piled rack storage protection schemes. These new protection options can reduce installation costs by as much as 50%. Large-scale fire tests were used to validate these alternative designs. They demonstrated that large orifice sprinklers and higher [...]
Polyurethane foam fires are known to produce very high heat release rates and extremely toxic fumes. As a result, these types of fires provide some unique life, firefighter, property safety and fire suppression challenges. In this study polyurethane foam fires and their combustion processes are [...]
The National Fire Protection Association is providing free online access to various NFPA codes and standards. The service, which is available to NFPA members and non-members, allows both PC and Mac users to access these documents electronically. (more…)
The risk of asphyxiation, a condition of insufficient supply of oxygen to the body, is difficult to assess because of many factors that can contribute to an oxygen deficiency. However, these factors can be measured and used to calculate the risks that can lead to [...]
NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation published a report on large-scale fire tests performed at FM Global for rack storage of Group A Plastics under sloped ceilings with slopes steeper than 2 in 12. An excerpt of this report is presented summarizing the results from these [...]
New layout of NFPA 13 may be beneficial for new users of the standard, but it can also create confusion and dismay for experienced users.
