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Fire Safety in Logistics Centers and Warehouses
The most prominent risk in logistics centers and warehouses is the combustion process, namely fire, which constitutes a significant life-threatening hazard within the facility and its surroundings, and carries substantial potential for organizational damage.
Fire protection in logistics centers and warehouses presents a particularly complex challenge, as these types of structures typically contain a very high fire load.
On August 22, 2017, the Commissioner of Fire and Rescue Services, Chief Fire Officer Dedi Simchi, published a regulatory relief document in the field of fire protection. This document cancels the following requirements for business structures in which no change of use has occurred and which were not required to meet these conditions at the time the building permit was granted: smoke release systems, fire separations, firefighters’ panel, firefighters’ telephone, requirements for openings, and fire resistance of the building’s structural frame.
In addition, the requirement for sprinkler systems was cancelled for facilities that present the Fire and Rescue Authority with an engineer’s declaration stating that the facility contains materials with a low fire load and that the manufacturing, transportation, and storage processes involve low risk.
The legislator determined that already at the planning stage, under the Planning and Building Law and the Fire and Rescue Authority Law, an appropriate response must be provided for every logistics center and warehouse in accordance with its specific characteristics.
As part of the planning process, the planner calculates the fire load, determines the level of risk, and defines the required fire safety arrangements in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.
Factors influencing the planning include the type of structure, building height, storage type, storage height, product mix to be stored, storage method, construction materials, and finishing and coating materials.
Fire protection in logistics centers and warehouses is implemented partly through passive measures and partly through active measures.
Passive protection primarily consists of construction materials and building characteristics designed to prevent the spread of fire from inside the structure outward and from outside inward.
Active protection includes the organization’s equipment, training, and procedures.
Active measures are divided into several system types:
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Portable equipment, including fire hose stations, water-based extinguishing means operated by a single individual, and portable fire extinguishers for individual response.
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Detection systems, designed to identify fire rapidly באמצעות various detectors installed throughout the logistics center or warehouse, including smoke, heat, flame, infrared, ultraviolet, and other detectors. Detection systems in Israel must comply with Israeli Standard 1220 in all its parts.
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Automatic detection and extinguishing systems – sprinklers, which are capable of detecting and suppressing a fire. These systems must comply with Israeli Standard 1596 and Israeli Standard 1928, as well as NFPA 13, NFPA 20, NFPA 22, NFPA 25 and others. Several types of sprinkler systems exist, including wet systems, dry systems, deluge systems, single-interlock pre-action systems, double-interlock pre-action systems, and more. Sprinkler systems may utilize different extinguishing agents, primarily water, though in some systems the agent may be foam, powder, or other substances.
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Automatic detection and extinguishing systems for special spaces, adapted to specific areas within logistics centers and warehouses, including electrical cabinets protected by systems suitable for electrical environments, server rooms, computer rooms, hazardous materials rooms, and similar areas.
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Smoke control and release systems, whose purpose is to ensure that smoke accumulates in the upper portion of the logistics center or warehouse and is rapidly vented to the open air, in accordance with the relevant parts of Israeli Standard 1001. Smoke control arrangements must be adapted to the facility in compliance with laws, regulations, standards, and the sprinkler system installed.
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Electrical systems, which must be designed and installed in compliance with the Electricity Law of 1954 and its regulations, as well as the operational needs of the logistics center or warehouse, including the use of fire-retardant and explosion-protected materials where required.
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Public address systems, operated either automatically or manually, intended to deliver announcements to large groups of people, including during emergencies, and compliant with Israeli Standard 1220 Part 3.
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Water supply systems, which must be adapted to the logistics center or warehouse to enable fire suppression in accordance with applicable standards. The water system requires a reliable and independent water source, namely an appropriate water reservoir and booster system serving the internal and external fire hydrant network and the sprinkler system.
The Fire Authority requires attention to the following elements in logistics centers and warehouses: access routes, staging areas, rescue windows where required, establishment of refuge areas, and fire-rated walls capable of resisting fire for two or four hours as needed. Doors installed in fire-rated walls must be fire doors designed to prevent fire spread. Emergency exits must be accessible, located at appropriate distances, free of obstructions, and of sufficient width to allow safe evacuation. Occupancy calculations and exit width determinations must be performed, along with travel distance assessments, protected corridors, the required number of exit routes, separation between zones to prevent fire spread, and compliance of construction, coating, finishing materials, and structural elements with the fire resistance duration specified by law, regulation, and standard.
Environmental protection against fire is addressed through a risk survey describing the hazard, its causes, and the measures required to mitigate risk to the site and its surroundings.
Tip of the Month: Ensure that the maximum storage height corresponds to the height specified in the certificate issued by the authorized laboratory that approved the installation of the automatic water sprinkler system.
We look forward to receiving your questions and the issues you have encountered in this field.
Written by:
Prof. Yitzhak HaCohen
M.Sc. in Fire Safety, Certified Fire Safety Officer and Industrial Firefighter
