I agree that these are Group A plastic at the very least; and that the
totes are caged for rigidity, which as others have said makes it a stable
pile, preventing water from getting directly on the bottom tote.  I have
asked the customer to give us a list of materials that are stored in the
totes.  Thanks for the info, as I had not known about section 3404 in IFC,
stating they may be considered full totes if flammable or combustible
materials were stored in and there is any in them.
This is another one of the reasons to be a member of AFSA and pay for this
forum.  Lots and lots of good help.
Thanks for the heads up!

*Jay Stough*
NICET IV LAYOUT
NICET III ITM

On Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 10:55 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:

> Jay,
>
> First as mentioned before, you need to know what was in these totes.
>  That could take you out of NFPA 13 and into NFPA 30.
>
> Are these totes closed or left open?
>
> You didn't state from which Table you got your design data.
>
> What is the building roof/ceiling height?
>
> At the very least these are considered a Group A Plastic.
>
> Totes are caged, it's not a rack.  It's for rigidity of the unit.
>
> Craig L. Prahl
> Fire Protection Group Lead
> CH2MHILL
> Lockwood Greene
> 1500 International Drive
> Spartanburg, SC  29303
> Direct - 864.599.4102
> Fax - 864.599.8439
> CH2MHILL Extension  74102
> [email protected]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sprinklerforum [mailto:
> [email protected]] On Behalf Of Jay Stough
> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2014 11:20 AM
> To: Sprinkler Forum
> Subject: Plastic classification
>
> I am looking at a warehouse that has 100 to 300 gallon plastic totes that
> are supported by a rack around each tote.  This allows the totes to be
> stacked 3 high, for a height of approximately 16'.  These totes are empty
> and in the process of being cleaned of any solution that may have been in
> them so they can be used by other customers.  As I look in NFPA 13 (2007)
> at the definition of stable and unstable piles, it appears that these would
> be stable piles, requiring more water than unstable piles.  If there is a
> fire in a lower tote, I am sure the fire might extend to a tote above, but
> due to the steel racks, they would not fall over.  However, due to the
> openness of the racks, the water would be able to get to the bottom of the
> pile quickly, hence limiting it to the pile that is on fire.
> Would you classify these as stable piles?  The difference is a .4/2500 for
> unstable versus .7/2500 for stable.
>
> --
> *Jay Stough*
> NICET IV LAYOUT
> NICET III ITM
> _______________________________________________
> Sprinklerforum mailing list
> [email protected]
>
> http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
> _______________________________________________
> Sprinklerforum mailing list
> [email protected]
>
> http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
> _______________________________________________
> Sprinklerforum mailing list
> [email protected]
>
> http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sprinklerforum mailing list
> [email protected]
>
> http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
> _______________________________________________
> Sprinklerforum mailing list
> [email protected]
>
> http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
>
_______________________________________________
Sprinklerforum mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org

Reply via email to