Fire protection for hazardous material warehouses

Significance of fire protection in hazardous materials storage

The substances stored in hazardous materials warehouses-including solids, liquids and gases-are often flammable; they may be classified as either flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable. They often have fire- or explosion-conducive characteristics as well. The materials in hazardous materials warehouses represent critical fire risks, making the need for fire protection exceptionally high. Some flammable substances or their combustion residues may also react to oxygen or one another, compounding the danger. Toxic by-products and gases may be formed as a result. To prevent such dangers from occurring, fire prevention is a top priority in hazardous materials warehouses, with the objective of minimising risks to humans, animals and the environment. Business-related concerns are important as well, such as protecting the stored goods against loss, preventing damage to the warehouse itself (including its investment-intensive automation systems), and above all, maintaining normal business operations and thus ensuring the company's continued delivery capabilities. Disruptions to operating processes should neither occur due to false alarms nor as a result of fire suppression scenarios involving time-consuming, expensive cleaning and disposal work

Reference projects

BASF

BASF Coatings AG: World’s largest chemicals corporation protects warehouse using sophisticated fire prevention solution

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

Fuchs Lubritech

Fuchs Lubritech GmbH, Kaiserslautern (Germany): Lubricants specialist protects its warehouse with OxyReduct

WAGNER worked in cooperation with Fuchs Lubritech and VdS Loss Prevention GmbH to develop a concept that would meet the sophisticated fire protection challenges posed by this hazardous materials warehouse.

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