NFPA Journal - March/April 2013 - (Page 45)

TESTING AT A GLANCE The tests organized by the Fire Protection Research Foundation and sponsored by IKEA and other stakeholders were conducted last year at Underwriters Laboratories. The tests primarily used standard exposed expanded plastic commodity, which consisted of stacked polystyrene meat trays stored on pallets. Storage and ceiling heights varied, but all rack arrays were separated by eight-foot aisles. All tests used ceiling sprinkler systems with ESFR sprinklers spaced 10 feet by 10 feet. Deflector distance below the ceiling was 14 inches. The goal of the tests was to control the fire spread and limit ceiling temperatures to protect the roof structure. While ceiling temperatures remained low, the tests did encounter problems with fire spread. PARAMETERS TEST 1 TEST 2 TEST 3 TEST 4 TEST 5 TEST 6 Ceiling Storage Nominal height height k-factor Ignition location Nominal discharge pressure Sprinklers operated by main array Total One-minute Vertical Peak steel Vertical sprinklers average steel barrier temperature barrier operated temperature spacing Extent of horizontal fire damage 40 ft 20 ft 22.4 Between 2 sprinklers 50 psi 12 12 126oF 124oF Metal 16 ft Fire traveled to the ends of the main array. 40 ft 20 ft 25.2 Between 2 sprinklers 60 psi 6 6 119oF 117oF Metal 16 ft There was some damage at one end of the main array. 40 ft 35 ft 25.2 Between 2 sprinklers 60 psi 10 10 145oF 141oF Metal 16 ft Fire was controlled in the main rack array. There was no ignition of the adjacent rack array. 35 ft 30 ft 16.8 Between 2 sprinklers 50 psi first 6 sprinklers then 35 psi 16 16 164oF 164oF Metal 20 ft Fire was controlled in the main rack array. There was no ignition of the adjacent rack array. 45 ft 40 ft 25.2 Under 1 sprinkler 60 psi 18 18 160oF 156oF 3/8-inch plywood 24 ft Fire was controlled in the main rack array. There was some damage to the adjacent rack array as a result of ignition. 40 ft 30 ft 25.2 Under 1 sprinkler 60 psi 6 11 129oF 127oF 3/8-inch plywood 16 ft Fire was contained in the main rack array. The adjacent rack array ignited. ters) in the United States and 550,000 square feet (51,000 square meters) in other parts of the world—the area of nearly 10 football fields under one roof, with roof deck heights around 37 feet (11 meters). Nearly 600 million people visit IKEA stores each year. As a result, IKEA takes a proactive approach to fire protection and life safety in its stores, and its safety standards address staff training, means of egress, and other topics. Typically, trained IKEA staff members are able to quickly address incipient fire conditions before they threaten the building’s occupants. As part of IKEA’s design standards, smoke detection is Graphic: Christopher McCusker installed in IKEA properties to provide early warning of fire conditions for all building occupants and the local fire department. In cases where fires develop to the point of activating the building’s automatic sprinkler system, IKEA has had more than a decade of success using early suppression fastresponse (ESFR) sprinkler systems to suppress fire conditions, even when fires have involved padded furnishings in racks. But the company is also aware that even a stringent fire prevention program cannot be expected to completely eliminate the potential for fires to occur. In 2008, IKEA began its warehouse protection project with detailed surveys and analysis to determine the types of commodities stored in the self-service warehouses. Fire protection professionals walking through IKEA warehouses will quickly notice that those commodities include exposed expanded plastics, such as couches and mattresses. IKEA wanted definitive data on the percentage of each type of commodity in the warehouses to help it make informed decisions about devising a test program to protect those commodities. CCI carried out a commodity classification analysis in accordance with the definitions in NFPA 13. The results provided information to IKEA on the range of MARCH/APRIL 2013 NFPA JOURNAL 45

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2013

NFPA Journal - March/April 2013
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Cover Story: Storage Occupancies
Fifty Years of Smoke Detection
Industrial Occupancies
Chicago 2013
Fire Analysis + Research
Section Spotlight
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - March/April 2013