Opening a New Warehouse? Protect it with Fireproofing

If you run a business, you understand the importance of protecting your people and your assets. So, opening a new warehouse is no small decision. Before it’s ready for operation, you must take the proper steps to ensure the safety of everyone and everything inside, including fireproofing. Of course, full-fireproofing consists of multiple aspects that all work together to create a well-protected work environment. There must be a collaboration between industrial painters, managers, workers, and local fire departments.
With all this in mind, let’s go over how you can properly fireproof your new warehouse.
Why Your Warehouse Needs Fireproofing
Components of a Thorough Fireproofing System
No building is ever completely immune to fire. However, the steps outlined below help decrease the risk of a fire starting, inform staff members of proper safety measures in the case of an emergency, and slow down the spread of fire. These components include:
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Proper Safety Training: all personnel must be thoroughly trained to handle flammable and corrosive materials with care. Training sessions should occur regularly and also go over proper fire extinguisher use, evacuation procedures, and more.
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Storage Safety and Optimization: warehouses should be laid out in such a way that they facilitate smart storage and stacking. When stacked, pallets should not exceed a certain height. Waste must be properly compacted and removed to avoid overflowing. And stored products must never obstruct exits or entryways. All of these measures reduce the risk of fire and ensure safe evacuation.
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Warehouse Safety Striping: pathways and locations of key items such as fire extinguishers should be clearly marked via warehouse line striping. These painted stripes should be maintained and touched up on an annual basis or as needed so personnel can clearly see them and respond accordingly.
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Fireproof/Intumescent Coatings: structural components, electrical equipment, pipes, ceilings, etc., should be covered with fireproof coatings. These intumescent coatings look like regular paint but expand and change their state when exposed to extremely high temperatures. As a result, fireproof coatings slow down the spread of flames, protecting your warehouse’s infrastructure and buying time for personnel to safely evacuate and firefighters to put out the fire.
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Fire Department Collaboration: when opening a new warehouse or another type of facility, a business should reach out to the nearest fire department to familiarize them with your space. They can map out your warehouse’s layout and point out potential hazards so that in the event of a fire they’re fully prepared to respond as needed.
Need Help Fireproofing Your New Warehouse?
It’s one thing to know the various ways to protect your warehouse from fire; it’s another thing to implement these strategies and systems. This is where Kaloutas’s fireproofing services come to the rescue. We are a safety-first kind of company, meaning we go above and beyond the industry standard for best practices. Our team can install intumescent coatings/intumescent paint where needed, and give you further advice on how to fireproof your warehouse.
To learn more about us and all that we do, contact us online or give us a call at 978−532−1414.
Kaloutas is New England’s premier contractor for commercial & industrial painting, flooring, and related services. Established in 1987, Kaloutas has become a trusted resource for general contractors, facilities managers, and building owners from Connecticut to Maine. Our team prides itself on high quality workmanship, jobs done on time & budget, and tackling complex projects that other contractors don’t have the experience or resources to handle. Contact us today for a painting or flooring estimate, or give us a call at 978−532−1414 to learn more.