report on fire suppression research for high-density storage facilities roberta pilette
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Report on Fire Suppression Research for High-Density Storage Facilities Roberta Pilette Director, Preservation Department Yale University Library. Hosted by ALCTS The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services. HD Library Facility vs Warehouse. HD Library Facility - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Report on Fire SuppressionResearch
for High-Density Storage Facilities
Roberta PiletteDirector, Preservation DepartmentYale University Library
Hosted by ALCTS The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services
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HD Library Facility vs Warehouse
HD Library Facility•Solid shelves spaced 12”-18” apart•Narrow aisles due to size of materials being retrieved•Long-term, homogeneous collections
Warehouse•Open rack shelving
•Large, open aisles to facilitate palletized delivery & retrieval•Short-term, ever-changing materials
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HD Library Facility vs Warehouse
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Project Development
• June 2005 Informal gathering of preservation librarians to
determine next stepsColumbia University Harvard
UniversityLibrary of Congress University of
ChicagoUniversity of Michigan Yale UniversityUniversity of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
The informal gathering became an informal consortium
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Survey Results– Identified 51 institutions with high density
facilities– Survey conducted February 2006; 51% responded– Questions asked regarding:
• Type of facility• Environmental conditions• Age of facility• Construction details regarding the roof, exterior &
interior walls and overall size with regards to length, height, width
• Tier/shelving configuration• What materials are stored in the facility and how
stored• Sprinkler/fire suppression systems
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Survey Results•What is stored and how
– Bound items directly on shelf 68%– Mss & archival collections, non-plastic containers 88%– Analog audio disks, mechanical recordings, non-plastic containers
54%– Microfilm/fiche, non-plastic containers 47%– Magnetic media in trays on shelf 67%– Oversize maps & drawings in flat files & shelves 56%
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Survey Results•Storage within the a module
– Interfile format types within a module 54%– Mixed formats within a section of shelving, the shelf, or
within the range/aisle >33%
•Fire Suppression systems– In-rack sprinklers 50%– No in-rack sprinklers 50%
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Project Timeline• July 2006
– Survey results in– Meeting at Yale to establish goals and expected
outcomes• May 2007
– FMGlobal approves project – Project and testing design begins; research engineer
assigned• Feb 2008
– Update on first set of tests– Lessons learned & reaffirmation of goals
• March 2010 – All testing complete– Preliminary results & recommendations presented to
consortium• June 2011
– Final Report
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Project Goals
• Provide fire protection options for a typical high-bay, high-density storage arrangement
• Develop loss mitigation methods to reduce non-thermal damage
• If necessary, make recommendations for the future design of high density storage modules
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Terminology & Test Array
Longitudinal flue
Aisle
Rack
Sprinkler heads Transverse flue
Overhead view of the shelving arrangement for tests.
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The Tests• Test #1
– In-rack sprinklers at 10 & 19 ft level at each transverse & longitudinal intersection– Ceiling sprinklers– Books in trays on shelves
• Test #2– Sprinklers same as #1– Books in trays & Archive boxes on shelves
• Test #3– Sprinklers same as #1 BUT add face sprinklers at 10 & 19
ft level– Books in trays & Archive boxes on shelves
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Results & Conclusions • Smoke detectors in all tests went off prior
to the first sprinkler head release.• The combination of in-rack and ceiling
sprinklers provides adequate fire protection.– Additionally, in-rack sprinklers are effective in
reducing the temperature of the racks thereby limiting the possibility of rack collapse.
• By adding face sprinklers it is estimated that there is 50% less damage to materials due to fire and water.
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Other Findings Along the Way
• Narrow aisles make fire fighting difficult
• Amount of material affected even in a small incident is large—remember this is ‘high-density’
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Slides from FM Global tests
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Other Findings Along the Way
•Cardboard trays failed quickly-Create falling book hazard-Front of tray with barcode info is lost-Weakened trays could not be used to pull books off shelf
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Final Recommendations
• Early detection devices mean faster response and less damage
• In-rack & ceiling sprinklers are good but adding face sprinklers provides the best protection
• Local fire department needs to be familiar with facility and its potential challenges and hazards
• Response & recovery plan are necessary• Considering replacing corrugated trays with
something that is non-combustible and will not fail when wet
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Many thanks to David Fuller, Kristin Jamison & Mary Breighner at FMGlobal;
Tom Gaitley at Copper Harbor Consulting, Inc; and fellow consortium
members on this project.
For copies of the FM Global report contact:David Fuller
Thank you [email protected]