Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Technical Report
Contents
Introduction 3
Conclusion 13
References 14
Are you
storing up problems?
Cover Photo of Enchede fireworks factory explosion, 13 May 2000, courtesy of The German Press Agency.
Willis Warehouse Fires 2
Introduction
The first version of this technical report was published in1998 to highlight to our clients the disturbing trend
of large warehouse losses. This third version of the report follows the recent fire in the Dutch border town of
Enschede that graphically demonstrated the possible catastrophic and tragic results of warehouse losses.
This high profile loss adds another statistc to the warehousing sectors loss record that as an illustration
continues to represent 25 per cent of the total claims value handled by Global Property and Casualty (GPC).
This problem is not restricted to our client base and a wider review of the warehouse sectors loss record
shows large fire incidents to be a widespread problem. Certainly our experience shows that this trend appears
to continue unabated which is why we again wish to stress the many lessons apparently going unheeded
from previous incidents.
An indication of the widespread nature of the warehouse fire Comparison of serious storage fires with all serious fires (1993-1997)
problem can be seen from a review of the loss statistics of Loss value of storage fires as a Number of storage area fires as
percentage of all serious losses a percentage of all serious fires
various national fire prevention organisations, insurance 40 %
companies and our own database. The number of fires 35
originating in storage facilities, which includes both
30
warehouses and storage areas associated with
25
manufacturing plants, averages around 15 per cent of
the total number of industrial fire incidents reported. 20
underes
in excess of 650°C. Steel structures begin to lose strength at
approximately 600°C leading to the possible collapse of
warehouse buildings within ten minutes of a fire taking hold. The
threat of fire should therefore never be underestimated for any
storage facility. for any storage facility
A review of the causes of storage area fires reveals that arson
incidents are the primary cause with significant contributions
also made by open flame, electrical equipment and external/
natural exposures.
Arson/Suspicious
23%
11% Exposures (to hostile fire)
Natural Causes
8%
Open Flame 17%
Heating Equipment
7%
3% Smoking
The leading causes of warehouse fires indicate the areas where Open Flames and Hot Surfaces
the greatest benefit can be gained from fire prevention efforts. In These common ignition sources are not normally
this section, we review each of these likelihood factors that associated with storage areas until further thought is
influence the possibility of a fire. given to their possible existence gas fired shrink- wrap
equipment, permanent and temporary heaters, steam
Arson pipes, cutting and welding operations, smoking, etc.
The deliberate starting of fires continues to be one of the All open flames and hot surfaces must be considered
leading causes of fires in storage areas with insurers paying as possible ignition sources and controlled accordingly.
over £1 million per day in arson claims in the United Kingdom
alone. Employees or outsiders can initiate such acts with n Shrink-wrap
motives ranging from revenge or excitement to covering This common packaging method is performed by four
criminal activities. With such a widespread risk it has proven main types of equipment including batch ovens; tunnel
difficult to protect storage facilities against a determined ovens, in which the product is moved on conveyors;
arsonist but with careful consideration and understanding pillar units in which heat guns are either lowered onto
of the problem the risk can be minimised. or rotated around the pallet; and portable equipment.
Shrink-wrap equipment can be either electrically
heated or gas fired and is generally designed to operate
in the region of 250°C. However, the temperature at the
timated
the malfunction or maloperation of the equipment and
the improper use of portable equipment.
Shrink-wrap equipment should preferably be
located in segregated and dedicated areas with superior
housekeeping standards. Fixed equipment should
The prevention of arson must be multi-faceted and always be equipped with appropriate safety trips e.g. thermal
designed to stay one step ahead of the arsonist. Basic security cut-out and loss of movement devices, to prevent the
measures will help to protect a facility and should encompass overheating of product upon a malfunction. Further-
secure perimeter fencing, external lighting and regular, but more, strict guidance and training in the use of portable
variable patrols of the facility by reputable security personnel. shrink-wrap equipment should be provided.
Additional precautions to provide an extra level of protection Extreme care should always be taken with shrink-
include intruder detection, CCTV monitoring, access control, wrap operations and consideration given to introducing
identification badges, and random inventory and security safer alternatives, such as stretch-wrapping.
checks.
Bradford, UK 1992(3)
n Fluorescent lamps
The maximum surface temperature of typical Storage can be exposed to many ignition sources either
fluorescent lamp components is 90°C. If positioned close from internal or external sources:
to storage, or if dust is allowed to collect on the
components, a fire can result. Furthermore, if the units n Internal exposures
are used beyond their expected service life, electrical It is preferrable to provide dedicated storage
failures can cause arcing and overheating. areas, however this may not always be possible.
Therefore, non-segregated manufacturing or other
activities located alongside storage areas may present
sources of ignition. A common approach to prevent
Wilton, UK 1995(3) cross exposure is to install fire barriers or walls to
A plastics warehouse was completely lost to fire achieve adequate segregation.
resulting in a US$14 million stock loss. The probable
cause was concluded to be the failure of a fluorescent light n Natural exposures
fitting which resulted in molten acrylic from the light Lightning is the most common natural ignition source.
cover dripping onto storage. Both the design and Protection is achieved via lightning conductors and
maintenance of the lighting systems were considered to grounding systems installed in accordance with
be at fault. Subsequently the light design was reviewed national codes and standards.
and the previous breakdown approach to light fitting
maintenance was replaced by a formal inspection and n External exposures
maintenance programme. Neighbouring activities, buildings and vegetation are
generally beyond the control of facility management
but may present a higher risk of ignition than well
controlled on-site hazards. Protection strategies and
Accepted good practice for the maintenance emergency plans need to consider these off-site issues.
of continuously operating electric discharge lighting systems
is to switch the lamps off for 15 minutes each week. Lamps
approaching the end of their useful life will then fail to restart India, 1994(4)
and can be replaced before they have the opportunity to Sparks from a fireworks display during a festival
fail in service. triggered an explosion and fire in a nearby fireworks
warehouse. 22 people died in the incident.
A recent study(5) reported that on average there are between These factors combine to highlight the need to provide
one and five fire incidents annually per storage premises, the some form of continuous fire detection together with
majority of which are controlled by manual intervention. emergency notification procedures for storage areas.
However, a proportion of these fires grow beyond this stage Fires can be detected in their incipient stage by either
turning into reportable fire incidents (1 in 250 incidents) automatic fire detection systems, watchman patrols and/
requiring fire brigade intervention with a further 1 in 750 or continuous occupation of the area. A suitable level of
incidents developing into serious fires resulting in roof round-the-clock fire surveillance should be considered for all
collapse. A review of these serious incidents shows a number storage facilities and procedures developed to ensure alarms
of common themes which alone, or in combination, result in are quickly relayed to the relevant fire response centre.
the uncontrolled escalation of a fire into a serious incident:
Fire Spread
delayed detection or notification of fire
Fire spread through storage areas is dependent upon the
the rapid spread of fire beyond the original source due to fire characteristics of the product involved, storage
the involvement of aerosols, flammable products, arrangements and the materials of construction of the
combustible construction, incompatibility of stored building itself. If not correctly accounted for, the rapid
products or poor housekeeping spread of fire can lead to a fire growing beyond the
capabilities of both automatic fire protection systems and
large open storage areas without fire walls or breaks
the manual fire-fighting response resulting in the
lack or failure of automatic sprinkler systems to effectively complete loss of large storage buildings. The following
control the fire aspects have repeatedly proved to increase the speed
the generation of large quantities of smoke of fire spread:
n Combustible construction
Building materials can contribute to the rapid spread
of fire either alone or in combination with combustible
storage. Construction features to be aware of include:
Smoke Generation
Manual fire fighting inside large open warehouses is
extremely difficult and dangerous, and comes with
no guarantee of success. Heat and smoke generation,
which is a consequence of any fire, greatly hinders
fire fighters and can obscure the seat of a fire. In addition,
the smoke can spread far beyond the seat of the fire causing
widespread damage to perishable or sensitive products.
It is therefore critical to consider how smoke generated
by a fire will behave and how its effects can be minimised.
In particular, climate controlled storage areas require
special consideration as the air recirculation systems can
rapidly spread smoke to unaffected areas.
Smoke control strategies can mitigate these problems
using a number of features:
Third-Party Warehousing
Off-site and third-party warehousing is commonly used to
accommodate spillover storage and for distribution
purposes. Although these facilities offer operational
flexibility, this is often at the cost of accepting lower fire
prevention and control standards. Furthermore, products
may be stored adjacent to other clients higher hazard or
non-compatible products significantly increasing exposure to
a serious fire, which is often not evaluated.
Standards of both fire prevention and control should be
specified in all third-party warehousing contracts. Regular
audits should also be undertaken to ensure standards are
maintained. To gain an insight into whether third-party
warehousing is providing acceptable standards, compare
the results of the enclosed risk-ranking questionnaire from
in-house warehouses with those from contracted facilities.
comes through
management community to further raise awareness of the
wide range of exposures linked to warehousing. In order to
assist in this process, we have designed a Risk-Ranking Tool
the correcting
for Serious Storage Fires which can be found at the back
of this report.
of our mistakes
Karl Popper
Willis
Global Property & Casualty
One Camomile Street
London EC3A 7LA
Telephone +44 (0) 20 7488 8111
Fax +44 (0)20 7975 2402
Website: www.willis.com
The following questionnaire can be used to quickly measure the relative risk of serious
fires in your storage facilities. The first step is to complete the questionnaire and sum the
likelihood and consequence scores. The scores can then be used to position the overall serious
fire risk rating of a particular facility onto the risk map shown at the end. From their positions
on the risk map, different facilities can be compared and areas where improvements are
most needed can be identified.
Arson
1. Perimeter fence provided with locked gates during unoccupied times and illuminated? 0 +1
2. Intruder alarm system installed and alarms continually monitored? 0 +1
3. Continuous security guard presence and patrols? 0 +1
4. Access control system installed? 0 +1
5. Random inventory and security checks performed? 0 +1
Electrical Equipment
11. Formalised maintenance programme practised on electrical equipment? 0 +1
12. Programme includes thermographic and visual equipment inspections? 0 +1
13. Qualified personnel used for maintenance and modifications to electrical system? 0 +1
14. Light fittings designed to prevent hot fragments falling onto storage? 0 +1
15. Lights maintained and inspected within regular maintenance programme? 0 +1
Exposures
16. Storage areas segregated from manufacturing or other activities by detachment or fire walls? 0 +1
17. Severe external exposures e.g. high hazard facilities adjoin storage building with high risk of fire spread? (If YES go to 20) +3 0
18. Moderate external exposure: e.g. moderate-risk facilities nearby with adequate separation to hinder fire spread? (If YES go to 20) +2 0
19. Low external exposure: e.g. well detached facilities, light surrounding vegetation and low build-up of combustible waste? +1 0
20. Product stored in multi-tenant warehouse without product separation? +1 0
Incompatible Materials
21. Well defined hazardous material identification and segregation policy? 0 +1
Fire Spread
22. High fire loading e.g. products containing or packaged with an appreciable quantity of plastics, rubber or flammable liquids? (If YES go to 25) +3 0
23. Medium fire load e.g. wood, paper or natural fibre cloth with limited plastic content? (If YES go to 25) +2 0
24. Low fire load e.g. non-combustible materials in paper, cardboard or wood packaging materials? +1 0
25. Aerosols and/or flammable liquids are stored alongside general storage? +1 0
26. The storage building contains extensive use of combustible construction materials, e.g. combustible insulation or roofing? +1 0
27. The storage area is divided into maximum 4,000 m2 areas by effective firewalls or detached by minimum 30m open spaces? 0 +1
Fire Detection
28. Storage areas are continuously manned? 0 +1
29. Fire watch/security patrols are made through internal areas on a minimum two hourly frequency? 0 +1
30. Automatic fire detection systems installed throughout all areas and continuously monitored? 0 +2
Smoke Control
34. Smoke control strategy considered and aided by features such as smoke extraction systems,
heat and smoke vents, fire doors activated by smoke detectors? 0 +1
Environmental Issues
35. Stored products are known to be environmentally sensitive? +1 0
36. Provisions made for firewater run-off? 0 +1
10
Low Risk
0 10 20
Consequence
Willis
Global Property & Casualty
One Camomile Street
London EC3A 7LA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7488 8111
Fax: +44 (0)20 7975 2402
7 Hanover Square
7th Floor
New York NY10004
Telephone: +1 (212) 344 8888
Fax: +1 (212) 344 8442
Website: www.willis.com