Loss analysis Main category: Warehouses and bulk storage Sub category: Warehouses


Jan 2009 to Dec 2017: During this period, large loss fires in warehouses and bulk storage premises accounted for 5.5% of all large loss fires


The numbers: There were 293 large loss fires in warehouses and bulk storage premises, 143 of which occurred in warehouses. Fires in warehouses accounted for 2.7% of all large loss fires and 48.8% of fires in warehouses and bulk storage premises


Cause


Warehouses and bulk storage Warehouses


Time of day


Warehouses and bulk storage Warehouses


Impedances


Warehouses and bulk storage Warehouses


Accidental 43.3% 48.8%


8.8% 9.9%


Deliberate 21.8% 20.9%


14.9% 17.5%


Unknown/unassigned 34.6% 30.2%


00:00 - 06:00 06:00 - 12:00 12:00 - 18:00 18:00 - 00:00 14.6% 12.5%


21.1% 25.9%


Total 59


22


Access 17


4


Acetylene Inadequate water 16


5


21 11


Unknown 40.2% 34.3%


Resources 5


2


The cost: Fires in warehouses and bulk storage account for 8.1% of estimated financial losses in all large loss fires, with an average loss of £1,126,171 per fire. Fires in warehouses account for 64.0% of the estimated large loss fires in warehouses and bulk storage premises, with an average cost of £1,270,760 per fire


Insurance component


Warehouses and bulk storage


Warehouses


Material damage


50.6% 47.9%


Business interruption


17.7% 20.3%


do work. It is strongly suspected that successes go largely unrecorded, and there may well have been more such events. More publicity should be given to successful sprinkler stops to aid recognition of their value, as well as to promote their installation in a higher proportion of commercial and industrial buildings.


Minimising the risk


When a new facility is at the design stage, serious consideration should be given to the installation of a sprinkler system. To ensure reliability, it should be designed, installed, commissioned and maintained in accordance with the LPC Sprinkler Rules, incorporating BS EN 12845, by a company certificated by an independent UKAS accredited third party certification body. In-rack sprinklers should be included in the specification where appropriate. During the design stage, discussions should also be held with the local fire and rescue service concerning access to and around the site, and the availability of water supplies for firefighting in the area. As well as fire suppression systems such as sprinklers, passive fire protection systems also have a major role to play. Although perhaps not so glamorous as sprinklers, effective fire compartmentation of a building can prevent a small fire developing into a major conflagration. Separating functional areas such as boiler and


plant rooms, lift truck charging areas and other areas under the control of different organisations


Contents Loss of rent


2.5% 1.8%


Fires in warehouses and bulk storage cost on average £364.14m2


0.5% 4.8%


Machine and plant


6.0% 4.4%


Stock Other


18.0% 1.6% 19.8% 0.9%


, whereas those in warehouses cost £354.84m2


may therefore serve as relatively cost effective measures to minimise the spread of fire. This will particularly be the case where effective fire stopping has been introduced around services that pass through fire compartment walls. Leaving a clear area around the perimeter of the


warehouse – rather than locating idle pallets, skips and bins against the exterior of the building – will reduce the risk of an external fire spreading to the main warehouse itself. In all areas within and outside the warehouse, electric and other cables located above ground level should be installed on cable trays. Where this is not practicable, they should be secured with stainless steel straps so as not to fall and present a danger to firefighters in the event of fire. Where hazardous materials may be on


site (for example LPG cylinders as fuel for lift trucks), the fire risk assessment (and DSEAR assessment where appropriate) should be reviewed periodically and whenever there are significant changes to the number of staff; the layout of the premises; the nature of the materials; or the manner in which they are stored (free standing on the floor or on racks). In all cases, an effective emergency plan should be in place to ensure the resilience of the business. One way of approaching this is to complete the ROBUST business continuity and incident management planning software, available for free from https://robust.riscauthority.co.uk/


Adair Lewis is technical consultant at the Fire Protection Association


These statistics are based on information supplied by loss adjusters to the FPA on a voluntary basis and not all insurers conducting business in the UK contribute to this dataset. They represent only sums paid out where the total loss is in excess of £100k and are deficient of losses under £100K, deductibles, underinsurance, uninsured, self-insured and captively insured components, which may be significant. In a year, total losses captured typically account for 50% of the ABI declared annual fire loss figure – which is similarly deficient of the same components (except the £100k threshold).


www.frmjournal.com OCTOBER 2018 53


FOCUS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60