Loss analysis Main category: Warehouses Sub category: Hazardous materials Jan 2009 to Dec 2018: During this period, large loss fires in warehouses accounted for 5.3% of all large loss fires


The numbers: There were 319 large loss fires in warehouses, ten of which occurred in buildings storing hazardous materials. Fires in hazardous material stores accounted for 0.16% of all large loss fires and 3.1% of fires in warehouses


Cause Warehouses


Hazardous material stores Time of day


Warehouses


Hazardous material stores Impedances


Warehouses Hazardous material stores


Accidental 43.9% 40.0%


8.1%


Deliberate 21.3% 20.0%


19.3%


13.7% 9.7%


Unknown/unassigned 34.7% 40.0%


00:00 - 06:00 06:00 - 12:00 12:00 - 18:00 18:00 - 00:00 Unknown 13.4% 9.7%


19.4% 0.0%


Total 62 2


Access 19 0


22 1


45.1% 61.3%


Acetylene Inadequate water Resources 16 1


5 0


The cost: Fires in warehouses account for 11.9% of estimated financial losses in all large loss fires, with an average of £1,439,843 per fire. Fires in hazardous material stores account for 4.8% of the estimated large losses in warehouses, with an average cost of £2,222,762 per fire


Insurance component


Warehouses Hazardous material stores Business


Building 42.8%


10.2%


interruption Contents Loss of rent 25.4%


35.2%


obvious, but may include various forms of manual handling devices, pumps, fridges, air handling units and the like. Mention was made of acetylene cylinders earlier – gas cylinders and flammable liquids tend to come to mind immediately when hazardous materials are mentioned, but contrary to expectations, these are not always the greatest dangers present. There was a major fire recently in the UK where, despite the extent of the damage, gas cylinders were not a major hazard. In this particular case, an explosion occurred shortly after firefighters arrived at a warehouse followed by another, 15 minutes later. This second explosion caused a roller shutter to blow out and hit the wall of a building some 10m away. Containers of oxidising materials and drums


of solvents were involved in the fire, which spread to affect an acid storage area. Exploding drums of solvent were being propelled several hundred feet into the air, one of which crashed through the roof of the main warehouse on the site, where it immediately set the contents alight. The emergency plan for the premises was progressively implemented with success and the fire was extinguished, but not before the plume of smoke from the building – containing significant quantities of hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric acid) – necessitated the evacuation of about 3,000 nearby residents from their homes. While the cause of the fire was not determined precisely, there were a number of routes by


3.4% 9.4%


Fires in hazardous material stores cost on average £839 m2 whole cost £381 m2


3.5% 0.4%


Machine and plant


4.8% 33.6%


Stock Other 18.5%


10.3%


1.4% 0.9%


; whereas those in warehouses as a


which an exothermic reaction could have been initiated in the store where the fire started. It may well have resulted from a corrosive substance leaking and coming into contact with organic materials. The main failing identified was that in this


building, which was some 37 years old, there was a lack of effective fire compartmentation between the area where the drums of flammable liquids were being stored and the main warehouse area. A substantial thermal barrier such as a double brick wall should have been provided to prevent the fire from spreading to the extent that it did. Emergency plans allowed a detailed


inventory of the warehouse to be printed out for the fire and rescue service, but the information unfortunately proved too complex for the needs of the firefighters, who would have benefitted from less detailed and more generic information, perhaps making it clear which items were not compatible. Thankfully, the drainage system on site was


adequate and the fire water runoff was handled effectively, albeit with some minor pollution to a local harbour, although this did not produce any long term side effects. There is never a happy ending when hazardous materials are involved


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).


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