American Fire Sprinkler Association 12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 Dallas TX 75251 Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
----------------- TECHNICAL UPDATE JULY 14, 2010 ----------------- “The NFPA 13 standard for Class II, III or IV commodities mentions wood products, but nothing such as wood chips. What would the commodity classification of wood chips in plastic bags palletized to 20 ft high be considered?” We have reviewed NFPA 13, 2010 Edition as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that wood chips still fall within the standard definitions for commodities. There is nothing unique about wood being in smaller pieces so it would be treated the same as other wood products. The definitions also include specified amounts of plastics to account for packing material and containers/bags. As per 13:5.6.3.3.2, a Class III is allowed up to 5% of the pallet load to be a Group A plastic. If it exceeds that amount, it would either be a Class IV (if within its allowed amounts) or a Group A plastic. The problem you have is that with the wood chips being within plastic bags (such that water cannot pre-wet the storage), it is considered encapsulated. NFPA 13:14.2 provides guidance for encapsulated commodities only up to 15 ft. The annex tells us that up to 15 ft, we treat encapsulated the same as standard storage, but up to 20 ft additional protection is required. Unfortunately, NFPA 13 does not provide any additional guidance. This leaves us to follow other criteria such as FM Loss Prevention Data sheet 8-9 (which can be obtained for free from the FM Global website). An exception to this is when ESFR sprinklers are applied in accordance with Table 14.4.1. If the commodity was placed in storage racks, then Chapter 16 would apply where it does provide criteria for encapsulated commodities. ----------------- Technical Update is prepared by the Technical Services Dept. of the AFSA: Roland Huggins, a PE registered in fire protection engineering, Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services; Phill Brown, a NICET IV certified automatic sprinkler technician and NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) and Tom Wellen, a degreed fire protection engineering technologist. This is provided with the understanding that the AFSA assumes no liability for this opinion or actions taken on it and they are not to be considered the official position of the NFPA or its technical committees. Copyright © 2010, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All Rights Reserved -------------------------- If you’d rather not receive future faxes from AFSA, fax your removal request to Amy Sweeney at Efax (214) 242-3155 or call toll free (888) 839-4830 or send e-mail request @ [email protected]. Please include your company name and the specific fax numbers(s) at which you do not wish to receive faxes from us. Our failure to comply with your request may be unlawful. _______________________________________________ Sprinklernotes mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklernotes
