It seems to me this is most like baled cotton storage which I think has more
guidance in NFPA 13 than baled hay.
Little story - - -
When I was an AHJ in a north Texas town, a fire started in a warehouse full of
baled cotton. One of the employees was there late in the evening and the
"bell" started ringing. It was annoying and he remembered his superiors
demonstrating how to make the bell stop ringing by turning the big hand wheel
clockwise. A coupling hours later smoke was reported and the FD responded.
They hooked up a pumper to the FDC and started boosting. Nearly immediately
the hose on the suction side of the pump limbered and went flat. Every
sprinkler on that system had activated and the water supply to the area was
unable to support such a demand. FD laid hose to the entrance and sprayed
water toward what appeared to be the hottest spot. Equipment was brought in to
remove the bales one at a time. Undamaged bales were set to one side. Smoking
bales were set in a certain area and another hose stream was dedicated to
keeping those bales in check. Eventually, large graves were dug and all of
the smoking bales were buried.
What amazed me most is that no matter how much water went onto a bale, once the
water stopped, it was just a matter of time before you'd start seeing little
wisps of smoke. It then made sense to me why burial was the only permanent
option.
J. Scott Mitchell, PE
Fire Protection Engineer |
Projects Engineering
CNS Pantex | 806.477.5883 |
-----Original Message-----
From: Sprinklerforum [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Todd Williams
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 8:56 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Baled Hay
That could be challenging within a building where the only access is through a
loading dock.
Todd G Williams, PE Fire Protection Design/Consulting Stonington, CT
860-535-2080 (ofc) 860-608-4559 (cell)
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On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 9:38 AM, [email protected]
<[email protected]> wrote:
The only experience I have had was hay stacks outside. The only way we were
able to control the fire was to have lots of water, either a ditch close by for
drafting or water relay and portable tanks. We used 1.5" hoses on each side of
the stack, while firemen kept watch on the stack. They directed tractors with
grappling hooks to move burning material away from the stack, and spread that
hay on the ground. More 1.5 " hoses sprayed the burning material on the ground.
Spotters watched for burning material and watched to make sure the tractors and
firemen did not get close to each other. All this only worked if we got there
early enough, had enough water, tractors, manpower and enough ground to spread
the hay out. Usually, we just protected exposures and watched the stack burn.
-----Original Message-----
From: Todd Williams
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 6:02 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Baled Hay
Hay makes me a little nervous. I'm not sure it would burn like a standard class
III. You could have the potential for a deep seated fire that sprinklers might
not be able to easily contain. To fully extinguish a fire, you would probably
have to remove the burning (or more likely smoldering) bales from the building,
break them apart and wet them down. In that way, it may behave more like a
commodity such as piled wood chips. Anybody with first-hand hay fire experience
out there?
Todd G Williams, PE Fire Protection Design/Consulting Stonington, CT
860-535-2080 (ofc) 860-608-4559 (cell)
Sent using CloudMagic
[https://cloudmagic.com/k/d/mailapp?ct=ti&cv=6.0.64&pv=8.2]
On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 6:08 PM, [email protected]
<[email protected]> wrote:
Safe to assume bales are rectangular? (I'm guessing cylindrical bales aren't
easily conveyed around a warehouse...)
Seems like 15' storage of solid piled class III commodity to me. Of course, FM
jobs would need a ceiling height as well.
Mark A. Sornsin, P.E. | Karges-Faulconbridge, Inc. | Fire Protection Engineer |
Fargo, ND | direct: 701.552.9905 | mobile: 701.371.5759 |
http://www.kfiengineers.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Sprinklerforum
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gary Stites
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 4:59 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Baled Hay
Baled Hay (Alfalfa) in a warehouse. On conveyors and/or staged for loading
trucks etc. Could possibly sit overnight stacked up to 15 feet ...
Ordinary II? Storage?
--
Gary Stites
*805-769-GMAN*
RLH <http://www.rlhfp.com>
WWW.K25.Rocks
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