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. But fire protection is a major issue in refrigeration and deep-freeze logistics. The dry air inside cold storage facilities increases the risk of fire. Temperatures inside such warehouses can be as low as -28 °C, resulting in low air humidity levels that can facilitate the outbreak of fires. The wooden pallets and packaging materials commonly used to store goods are highly inflammable in the dry air. Increased automation carries additional fire risks: cable breaks, overheating conveyor motors on pickers and belts, and technical defects in refrigeration units or vacuum packaging equipment all represent potential fire hazards. And the insulation materials installed in deep-freeze storage facilities, such as mineral wool or Styrofoam, can pose fire dangers as well. The high, narrow spaces between racks in these ever-larger cold storage facilities help fires spread quickly, while also making it difficult for conventional extinguishing systems or the fire brigade to put fires out. As such, the most effective solution for cold storage facilities is to prevent fires from developing and spreading in the first place.
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
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
KLM Logistik, Rheine (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.
Georg Grewe, Managing Director, KLM Logistik
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
