Firefighting at warehouses

Warehouse buildings and premises are protected by automatic foam extinguishing units. The main codes of practice in the field of designing fire extinguishing systems are SP 5.13130.2009, SP 155.13130.2014 and SP 241.1311500.2015. However, the requirements of the standards today do not apply to all industrial and production facilities. Pozhneftehim, a manufacturer of firefighting equipment and foam concentrates, developer of design solutions in the field of fire safety, discusses the fire extinguishing installations in this article.

Methods and means of extinguishing fires in warehouses

The design features of the building, the type of fire load and the requests of customers influence the choice of a fire extinguishing unit. Various fire extinguishing agents and fire equipment are used for firefighting in warehouses (warehouse buildings, premises). Air-mechanical foam is recommended for extinguishing highly flammable and combustible liquids, combustible materials, substances, powders, emulsions. When it comes to the fire equipment, foam generators of low, medium and high expansion, as well as deluge sprinklers are used for extinguishing fires in warehouses.

Extinguishing by area with foam of low and medium expansion and extinguishing by volume with high expansion foam are used in warehouses, storage buildings and premises. Four examples of fire extinguishing installations are illustrated in the logic diagram of Pozhneftehim.

Pozhneftehim logic diagram. Examples of fire extinguishing installations. Warehouses, storage buildings and premises (according to SP 5.13130.2009).

Foam fire extinguishing is applied at oil, gas and petrochemical industry facilities. The scope of foam fire extinguishing units also extends to facilities of other industries and to the warehouses of multidisciplinary wholesalers (consumer goods). The following is a list of substances and materials, during storage of which air-mechanical foam (automatic foam fire extinguishing units) is recommended as a fire extinguishing agent.

• Warehouses for paintwork and fuels and lubricants (fuels and lubricants)
• Warehouses of the chemical industry (alcohols, solvents, plasticizers, ethers and esters, rubbers, rubbers and raw materials for rubber products, organic synthesis products)
• Warehouses of the food industry (alcohol, chips, crackers, sunflower oil, cocoa, peanut, palm, rice flour, wheat, rye, oatmeal, buckwheat, meat, fish, etc.)
• Warehouses for building materials (linoleums, enamels, varnishes, latexes, industrial, machine oils, technological lubricants, plastics including PVC, polystyrene and structural plastics, etc.)
• Warehouses with household chemicals (detergents, cleaning products)
• Warehouses for light industry (fabrics, cotton)
• Warehouses for agricultural products (grain)
• Warehouses of the medical industry (camphor oil, eucalyptus, castor, fir)
• Warehouses of the woodworking and furniture industry

For more information on the choice of fire extinguishing agents, see the manual A. Ya.Korolchenko, D.A. Korolchenko “Fire and explosion hazard of substances and materials, and means of firefighting” - M .: Association "Fire Science", 2004

Fire extinguishing units and fire equipment Pozhneftehim

According to SP 5.13130.2009, “the type of fire extinguishing unit, the method of extinguishing, and the type of extinguishing agent are determined by the design organization, taking into account the fire hazard and the physico-chemical properties of the produced, stored and used substances and materials, as well as the features of the protected equipment”.

The choice of the foam generator determines the choice of the extinguishing method and the fire extinguishing unit design. Pozhneftehim, a manufacturer of firefighting equipment and foam concentrates, warns that externally similar devices may have different specifications and are not interchangeable in fire extinguishing system designs. Next, we consider four examples of fire extinguishing units by the type of foam generator.

1. Firefighting in warehouses with Favorit GVPE

An automatic fire extinguishing installation with high expansion foam involves the use of Favorit high expansion foam generator manufactured by Pozhneftehim and a foam concentrate for high expansion (Aquafom NSV). The foam concentrate must be synthetic (type S) or synthetic alcohol resistant (S/AR), depending on the fire load. The system is suitable for large rooms, because it allows to quickly fill the entire volume of the warehouse and eliminate the fire, which can spread to the walls and roof of the building.

Favorit High expansion foam Generator, manufacturer: Pozhneftehim

Favorit GVPE is a foam generator designed to produce air-mechanical foam from 1%, 3% and 6% aqueous foam solution (premix). The foam generator is used for volumetric fire extinguishing, provides a flow rate of the foam concentrate solution of at least 50 l/min and a foam ratio of 400 to 800 (depending on the quality of the water and the foam concentrate).

2. Firefighting in warehouses with Turbopen UGP

An automatic fire extinguishing unit with medium expansion foam involves the use of a universal Turbopen foam generator manufactured by Pozhneftehim and a medium expansion foam concentrate (Aquafom NSV). The foam concentrate can be synthetic and photosynthetic (type S, S/AR, AFFF or AFFF/AR is selected depending on the fire load of the premise). The system is suitable for warehouses of any volume. The use of film-forming foam concentrates is recommended.

Turbopen universal foam generator, manufacturer: Pozhneftehim

Turbopen UGP is a universal foam generator. It is used to deliver a jet of extinguishing agent (medium expansion foam), operates in the pressure range from 0.4 to 1 MPa and has an increased delivery range (compared to a number of outdated medium expansion foam generators; check with Pozhneftehim consultants for details). When choosing the oscillation function, the device has a different degree of oscillation (up to 360ᵒ) from the central axis of the generator.

3. Extinguishing fires in warehouses with Antifire UVPN

Automatic fire extinguishing system with low expansion foam using the universal Antifire foam nozzle manufactured by Pozhneftehim and a low expansion foam concentrate (Aquafom N). The film-forming fluorosynthetic foam concentrate AFFF, AFFF/AR or AFFF/AR LV (low viscosity) is used, as well as the synthetic alcohol-resistant foam concentrate S/AR. The fire extinguishing unit is used to extinguish hazardous objects which location is predetermined.

Antifire universal watering nozzle, manufacturer: Pozhneftehim

Antifire UVPN is a low expansion foam generator that can be used in fire extinguishing systems of various objects. These are production shops, technological sites, helipads, aircraft hangars. The device can supply both low expansion foam and water for water cooling. Depending on the design and modification of the fire protection system Antifire, it can be used for surface and volume-surface fire extinguishing. The device has a torch regulator that allows to form jets with a spray angle of 30 °, 60 °, 90 °, 120.

4. Firefighting in warehouses with deluge sprayers (drenchers)

Automatic fire extinguishing installation with water, water with a WA wetting agent or a foam concentrate solution. The drenchers can be used to extinguish fires and create water curtains. The unit has a wide scope and is suitable for warehouses with substances and materials used in various industries. When designing a fire extinguishing system with deluge sprayers in warehouses, the ceiling height of the protected premises must be also considered.

Fire extinguishing standards, Special technical conditions (STU) on fire safety

Automatic fire extinguishing installations for warehouse facilities are designed according to special technical conditions (STU), if the regulatory requirements for them are not specified in the codes SP 5.13130.2009, SP 155.13130.2014 and SP 241.1311500.2015.

Fire safety special technical conditions are regulations required for automatic fire extinguishing units at the following facilities:

• Warehouses of chemically active substances and materials interacting with a fire extinguishing agent.
• Warehouses for liquefied petroleum gases, warehouses for polar liquids, warehouses for oil and petroleum products of non-civilian use, warehouses for polar liquids.
• High shelf storage warehouses designed for storing varnishes, paints, flammable and combustible liquids, smoldering materials (cotton, tobacco), dry mineral fertilizers and chemical plant protection products.
• High shelf storage warehouses intended for storing explosive, radioactive and potent toxic substances, combustible gases, products in aerosol packaging, non-combustible gases in containers under pressure of more than 70 kPa.
• High shelf storage warehouses designed to store oil and oil products, rubber, flammable plastics, rubber and rubber products.
• High shelf storage warehouses designed to store flour, animal feed, furs, furs and fur products, chemically active substances and materials.

Pozhneftehim, the developer of standard and special design solutions in the field of fire safety (Fire safety special technical conditions, Fire safety concepts, Fire safety measures), draws attention to the fact that the designer of such systems should have in-depth knowledge of the regulatory framework and the technical features of fire extinguishing equipment, properties of foam concentrate solutions and fire hazard features of the facility.

“When developing design solutions for fire hazardous facilities, we visit the facility to assess fire risks and choose an economically sound fire extinguishing unit. However, it is better if the organization-developer entrusts all work on the implementation of the fire extinguishing unit to one contractor. Pozhneftehim can prepare and coordinate the optimal design solution with the supervisory authorities, supply fire equipment and a foam concentrate, take part in the commissioning of the fire extinguishing system and train the operating services at the facility. In case of working with different contractors and creating a fire extinguishing unit from various (possibly not compatible) components, the customer’s risks in the field of fire safety increase,” said Sergey Panov, Deputy Technical Director of Pozhneftehim LLC.

Advanced training in the design of fire extinguishing systems

Designing systems for extinguishing fires in warehouses requires not only knowledge of the regulatory documents of the Russian Federation, but also the technical features of different types of fire products.

Pozhneftehim provides industrial and fire safety specialists, designers and engineers of design organizations with comprehensive technical documentation, consults and trains specialists at the annual Advanced training courses in Donskoy (Tula Region, production site of Pozhneftehim-Detal LLC).

Advanced training courses "Modern firefighting technologies at the facilities of the oil, oil and gas and petrochemical industries" have been conducted by Pozhneftehim since 2016 (License of the Ministry of Education of the Tula Region No. 0133/03315 dated 09/30/2016). For more information about our training program please visit the link.

The article was prepared by specialists of Pozhneftehim LLC

Contact for further advice: +7 (499) 703 01 32, mail@pnx-spb.ru

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