Fire Protection for Manufacturing Plants

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), nearly 43,000 fires reportedly took place at industrial or manufacturing plants and properties from 2006 to 2010. A resulting 22 deaths, 300 injuries and $951 million in direct property damage resulted from these fires.

Structural fires in manufacturing facilities are most commonly caused by:

• Flammable liquids or gases
• Sawdust, lint or fibers
• Electrical wires or cables
• Trash or waste products
• Structural framing

Is your manufacturing plant prepared in case a fire breaks out? It’s an emergency event you can’t predict, but you can take precautionary measures to help ensure the safety of your employees, customers and merchandise. Take a look at the fire protection systems you should have in place for the best defense against out-of-control flames.

Fire Alarms

Industrial buildings are complex places where a fire can take you by surprise. Fortunately, with adequate fire alarms installed, you can count on detecting the fire quickly. As long as you also have fire alarm monitoring, you can expect emergency personnel to be on their way immediately after the alarm sounds.

The critical components found in all fire alarm systems include:

• Smoke detectors
• Pull stations
• Horn strobes
• Fire proof bells
• Fire alarm control panels
• Annunciator panels
• Water flow for sprinkler monitoring packages
• Duct detectors
• Booster panels
• Wireless fire alarm systems

Fire Sprinklers

If a fire starts in your manufacturing plant, the most important step is to get everyone safely out of the building. Then, there’s nothing left to do but wait until fire fighters arrive.

In the meantime, fire sprinklers can keep the blaze confined to a small area inside the building and perhaps even douse the blaze completely. Working fire sprinklers are often the best defense against hundreds or even thousands of dollars in property damage. Without sprinklers present to take immediate action in case of a fire, it could be too late to save inventory by the time emergency personnel arrive.

Fire Extinguishers

If people are in the area when a small blaze ignites, sometimes a little human intervention is the best way to stop the fire from spreading. In order for this to happen, you need to install the right type of fire extinguishers in the proper places within your building.

The classifications of different fire extinguishers include:

• Class A (ordinary fires)
• Class B (flammable liquid fires)
• Class C (electrical fires)
• Class D (flammable metal fires)
• Class K (commercial kitchen fires)

Depending on what you manufacture, you may require multiple types of fire extinguishers throughout the plant. ABC multi-purpose fire extinguishers are useful in most situations, but they’re useless against Class D and Class K fires, which require different fire fighting methods.

Fire Suppression Systems

Fire sprinklers may seem like the go-to option for suppressing a blaze, but when it comes to fires in rooms with computers, electronics and other valuables, you shouldn’t have to choose between fire and water damage.

If you have any expensive, water-sensitive equipment in your manufacturing plant, fire suppression systems are the answer. These solutions use foam or chemicals to put out fires, leaving little to no residue behind for minimal damage.

Kaufman Co: Your Houston Fire Protection Partner

At Kauffman Co., we install all fire alarm components, sprinklers, extinguishers and suppression systems according to local Texas codes. But installation is just the first step to an effective fire protection system. That’s why we also offer design, repair, replacement, and inspection services. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment with a fire protection specialist, please contact us today!