Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
(OP)
Warehouse fire
Posted: 10:06 p.m. Saturday, July 11, 2015
Warehouse fire burns buildings in Brunswick
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/warehouse-fire-burns-buildings-brunswick/nmxWN/
That's "pellets" and not "pallets".

Becoming a big deal down in South Georgia and northern Florida where there's half a dozen plants that manufacture ship and out of Savannah or Brunswick to Europe. Not sure if pellets for fuel have caught on in the United States but I did hear there was a stove just introduced that is supposed to be very efficient and clean burning.
I've been invited to bid two of these over the past five years but (maybe lucky for me) everything is handled out of Europe and I found it very hard to "make contact".
Anyway, what I really want to ask is where do I find in the standard what the design criteria for sprinklers would be? When you got a product that is designed to burn I got to figure it's going to be demanding to say the least.
Is there a standard I missed maybe?
Also, everything I have seen has very steep pitched roofs.
Posted: 10:06 p.m. Saturday, July 11, 2015
Warehouse fire burns buildings in Brunswick
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/warehouse-fire-burns-buildings-brunswick/nmxWN/
That's "pellets" and not "pallets".
Becoming a big deal down in South Georgia and northern Florida where there's half a dozen plants that manufacture ship and out of Savannah or Brunswick to Europe. Not sure if pellets for fuel have caught on in the United States but I did hear there was a stove just introduced that is supposed to be very efficient and clean burning.
I've been invited to bid two of these over the past five years but (maybe lucky for me) everything is handled out of Europe and I found it very hard to "make contact".
Anyway, what I really want to ask is where do I find in the standard what the design criteria for sprinklers would be? When you got a product that is designed to burn I got to figure it's going to be demanding to say the least.
Is there a standard I missed maybe?
Also, everything I have seen has very steep pitched roofs.





RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
I have been asked on two occasions to develop criteria for these. Not one was happy with what I thought would work.
Best policy, control the amounts and locations of how it is pile/stored.
Always keep in mind, these things are made to burn... Very good!
R/
Matt
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Not in any containers??
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
So yes, the ones I dealt with would turn into essentially Solid Pile Storage.
R/
Matt
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Might save the building at least
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Is that a new building in flames? Wonder what criteria was used in this case?
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Take a real close and good look at that fire plume and heat release in that picture. (thanks for providing that BTW)
Can you think of enough water to control that? The cost of the systems almost always shy away the owner/builder.
Cheaper to rebuild..
I am interested in how this will proceed..
OH! notice the conveyor, They have those inside as well. Pretty wide @ points.
R/
Matt
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Fire destroys two huge warehouses at Port of Brunswick
That's tons and not pounds. What's the fuel loading of 30,000 tons of pellets?
Knowing how things were done in the early 80's why do I have a gut feeling we're looking at OH Group II or III pipe schedule? Those were the days and regardless of what was stored if it was less than 12' it was automatically OH pipe schedule.
I remember if we couldn't make it work with hydraulic calculations, everything we did was did by hand, our backup plan was always pipe schedule.
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
Man are you old....lol
Problem is I remember it too.
I just retired after 36 years on the insurance side of the equation.
Make it .60/4000 include 750 GPM for hose. I am sure the water supply will cost a few $$$
Have fun, sometimes you just can not protect every occupancy.
Tom
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
I think all this density speculation speak is dangerous. The last photo shows me a ladder pipe flowing 1,000 GPM on a product that will be scooped by a large front end loader, dried out on a parking lot, and sent to Europe when it's dry. The owner loses some money, but probably gets paid for 70% of the loss, writes off the other 30% on his 2015 taxes, and gives a few grand in charity dollars to the local FD.
Travel to the Houston ship channel and this type of storage with plastics is not allowed because the final commodity has a value > $1 per pound. They bag it, barge it, or boat it because the manufacturing processes are more driven toward the market demand.
This wood pellet thing, it's regional, cheap and a few fires is the cost of doing business. It reminds me of cotton bale storage in South Texas in the 1970s and 1980s. And yeah, I am old.
RE: Warehouse fire in Brunswick, GA (Wood pellet storage)
I know of a few commodities/storage arrangements that even ESFR can't control.
On the flip side, the costs to rebuild can't be too high. Fire suppression is usually only a small fraction of the total building costs and the new building likely won't have the steep roof etc.