Many factors play a role in the fire protection of factory buildings and warehouses - from the building fabric to the use and the stored goods. Information on which fire protection requirements apply to existing company buildings is available to the owner or can be viewed in the archives of the building authorities. The requirements of property insurers or customer specifications may also be relevant. In the case of new buildings or changes of use, a fire protection expert - in some cases also an inspection expert - from the building authority must individually determine how people and assets can be optimally protected in the event of a fire. Legal requirements can be found, for example, in the state building regulations and industrial building guidelines of the respective federal states. Three important elements in particular are defined here, which must interlock seamlessly to ensure effective fire protection:

-Structural fire protection

-Technical fire protection

-Organizational fire protection

The basis for protecting a building against fire is structural fire protection. This includes, for example, the choice of building materials used and the type of construction. There are also requirements to divide building parts into fire compartments. Maximum sizes for these are specified in the industrial building guidelines in relation to the floor area. The risk assessment of the damage event changes with the fire compartment area and has a direct influence on the fire protection concept. Fire walls are required to delimit the fire compartments. They are designed to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building - depending on the requirements, fire walls must statically resist the fire for a period of 90 minutes or even 180 minutes in the case of complex partition walls and also withstand mechanical loads.

Determining the fire load
There are three methods for assessing fire protection in the Industrial Building Directive. Firstly, there is a flexible method using a table in which fire compartment areas are defined on the basis of the floor areas, allowing the operator to use the building flexibly. A second option is to calculate the fire load. The fire load is required, among other things, to assess how long the building structure can withstand a fire. During an on-site assessment, fire protection experts record all potential fire loads and use clearly defined calculation methods to determine the possible sizes of the fire compartment areas. The third method for determining the size of the fire compartment and the building requirements is the recognized engineering methods, which make it possible to design flexible concepts.

Technical fire protection complements structural fire protection. The installation of automatic fire extinguishing systems and fire alarm systems makes it possible to enlarge fire compartments accordingly - for example, if partitioning with fire walls is not possible. Automatic fire alarm systems report a fire and safely alert the fire department. Automatic fire extinguishing systems are themselves actively involved in fighting the fire. In the event of a fire, they discharge extinguishing agents such as water, foam, wetting agents and powder directly onto the fire area and attempt to contain the fire and reduce the damage caused.

The third element is organizational fire protection, such as training and education of employees as fire protection and evacuation assistants. The training and requirements are regulated and specified by law in various regulations. Organizational fire protection also includes the targeted equipping of the company with escape and rescue plans, portable fire extinguishers and the provision of a fire safety officer who monitors the implementation of the various requirements and also ensures this over the life cycle of the building.

Sheet steel containers with water drainage holes - the picture shows a demonstration at the SSI Schaefer stand at FachPack 2019. © SSI Schäfer

Steel containers: High fire resistance
Steel containers from SSI Schaefer meet high standards for the transportation and storage of goods - they are robust and durable. The metal containers also offer important advantages in terms of fire protection. They protect goods, help with firefighting and often offer cost benefits in the overall context. Due to their higher fire resistance, sheet steel containers offer the goods stored in them much better protection against flames than plastic containers and do not contribute to the fire as an additional fire load. Even at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius, steel containers retain their usage properties in the long term. Plastic containers, on the other hand, can only withstand maximum temperatures of between 200 and 300 degrees Celsius.

Ensure water drainage
Due to their resistance, stacked sheet metal containers or shelving inserts made of sheet metal provide an effective fire barrier that can be used both horizontally and vertically to protect against spreading flames. Perforated sheet steel containers are also permeable to extinguishing water, which is why they cannot fill with water. If unperforated containers fill with extinguishing water, the additional weight can overload the shelving system.

Lower sum insured
Sheet steel containers are more expensive to purchase than plastic, but offer a much longer service life due to their stability. Steel containers also offer financial advantages in terms of fire protection, as they can significantly reduce the sum insured due to their high fire protection class. In addition, steel has a stable material value - even after a fire, 99.9 percent of the containers can be recycled.

Consult specialists in good time
Daniel Morent, Head of Sales Product & Equipment HUB DE at SSI Schaefer, sees a great need for information on the part of companies: "The topic of fire protection is very extensive and is becoming more and more important. Ideally, companies should seek advice on planned changes in the warehouse at an early stage, as large cost differences are often possible if a holistic approach is taken in good time. It is important to always consult a specialist. This is why we at SSI Schaefer work in close cooperation with established partners on the subject of fire protection."