A fire in a deep-freeze warehouse? That may seem illogical at first, since cold and ice conjure up associations quite the opposite to fire and heat. Fire protection is an important issue for refrigerated and deep-freeze logistics, because ice and cold do not protect against fire here. The wooden pallets usually used to store goods as well as the packaging material are highly flammable in the cold and dry air. In addition, technical defects in control cabinets, cooling units, cranes or vacuum packaging systems and others can cause fires. Flammable insulating materials such as mineral wool or polystyrene installed in the deep-freeze warehouse can also pose a fire hazard. The construction of the storage rooms in ever larger dimensions with their narrow and high aisles and ever decreasing spaces between the shelves promotes rapid spread of the fire and makes it difficult to extinguish using conventional systems or the fire brigade. It is therefore important to prevent the development and spread of fire in cold storage.
Reference projects
NewCold Burley, Idaho (USA): Comprehensive fire protection for a new, fully-automated deep-freeze high-bay storage
The cold warehouse helps support the production and supply chain activities of leading food processors in the region, including McCain Foods. It is our responsibility to ensure availability, even in the event of a fire.
Jonas Swarttouw, VP Customer & Business Development U.S. at NewCold
NewCold Germany Rheine GmbH (Germany): WAGNER fire protection solution protects Germany’s largest fully automatic high-bay deep-freeze storage facility
The solution speaks for itself: in our new high-bay cold storage warehouse, nothing can burn thanks to active fire prevention using oxygen reduction. Thanks to the high energy efficiency of the VPSA technology installed, we not only score big in terms of security, we also keep operation costs down.
Frank Huckschlag, Managing Director, NewCold Germany Rheine GmbH
Thomas Fürtig, operations manager of Eisbär Eis (Germany): Active fire prevention protects deep-freeze high-bay warehouses and ensures operational readiness
Business disruption is an absolute no-go. For us, it is about the safety of the warehouse and protecting the new investment. Because the availability of our products always has top priority.
Thomas Fürtig, operations manager of Eisbär Eis
Preferred Freezer Services, Richland (USA): Minimising fire-related risk in the food industry
Our warehouse has to be operational 24/7 no matter what. We can’t afford interruptions of any kind. This is what made WAGNER’s OxyReduct® active fire prevention system the most suitable fire protection solution for us.
Burnie Taylor, General Manager, Preferred Freezer Services
Greggs, Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK): No interruption in the supply chain
The new Triton national distribution facility in Newcastle Upon Tyne supplies Greggs’ stores throughout the UK with its trademark food to go. From the outset of project Triton, it was essential for Greggs to implement a fire protection concept that ensures fire can never interrupt the supply chain. A solution that fits our needs was found at WAGNER.
Peter Boughton, Group Production Project Manager bei Greggs PLC
