Technical defects represent another fire hazard. The particular conditions in warehouses and logistics centres increase the risk that fires will spread rapidly: narrow alleys, high bay systems, long conveyor belts, a concentrated volume of goods within a tight space, and flammable packaging materials are all conducive to fire development. Fire protection takes on particularly great significance when storing small load carriers (SLC) or hazardous materials. In SLC storage, the fire behaviour of the plastic material used to make the SLCs creates additional risk. In hazardous materials storage, the mildly to highly flammable substances stored here must be specially protected due to the explosion hazards fires would create.
The significance of fire protection in storage and logistics
- Personnel protection
- Environmental protection
- Protecting operating processes and maintaining uninterrupted delivery capability (thus part of securing continued existence)
- Protecting investments in goods, technology and buildings
The need for, and thus the number of, logistics centres and warehouses is steadily increasing. At the same time, the storage and logistics industry is being confronted with a number of new requirements: Developments like online retail and increasingly high customer expectations (same-day delivery, for example) are resulting in new and increasingly complex challenges. Process automation, optimised interfaces, speed and complete flexibility are all necessary for providers to be able to ensure ever-shorter throughput times from goods receipt to dispatch. And maintaining delivery capability and operational processes at all times is crucial to the company’s success and continued existence.
Reference projects
NewCold Germany Rheine GmbH (Germany): Fire protection in a deep-freeze warehouse
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
Fire protection in hazardous material storage
We were faced with a difficult task that we could not accomplish using conventional safety and security technology. Our company fire brigade conducted an extensive series of tests attempting to set fire to an OxyReduct®-protected test laboratory—in vain.
Dr. Peter Bachhausen, Head of Safety and Environmental Protection, BASF Coatings AG
