Citation

Tyldesley A, Rew PJ, Houlding RC. Process. Saf. Environ. Prot. 2004; 82(5): 331-340.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Institution of Chemical Engineers and European Federation of Chemical Engineering, Publisher Hemisphere Publishing)

DOI

10.1205/psep.82.5.331.44195

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A study has been made of the benefit of fire compartmentation in chemical warehouses and its cost-effectiveness in relation to other fire protection measures. A probabilistic model was developed which considers fire growth within a compartment, fire spread to adjacent compartments and the overall effects of the fire in terms of a damage area-fire frequency product. A simple deterministic assessment was also made of missile and blast effects on compartment walls resulting from the sudden failure of metal drums containing liquid fuels. Three wall options were considered in the study: a reinforced concrete wall, a blockwork wall and a plasterboard stud partition. The model compares the benefit provided by these wall options with the benefit provided by other fire protection measures such as detection (manual and automatic), automatic suppression, manual fire fighting (including fire brigade action), spillage control and separation. Generic costs were defined for fire protection measures using information provided by suppliers and quantity surveyors. The model was run for selected warehouse designs. Initial conclusions were drawn from the results with regard to choice of fire protection, and model uncertainties and weaknesses were identified.